Boxes, Boxes, Boxes

Here at CAAM, we had to pack up our offices last week since the State was putting down new carpet. I had fifteen boxes of STUFF now that got packed up with the assortment of papers, etc. This is not bad considering some people had 20,30,100. 136 boxes. When I came in today, lots of hustle was going on to get all the stuff out of the boxes and back in place. That's good. Bravo. As for me, I know whatever is in the boxes is stuff I will never see again. It will sit in those 15 boxes until the boxes turn to dust. When I torn down my studio and built my little cottage, I put everything from the studio into boxes and put the boxes in my basement. There they sit and that was ten years ago. One day I'll clean out the basement and throw stuff away --or so I have been saying welll --for the last ten years. I am wondering if somewhere deep, hidden is there a hoarder gene in Ruth Adkins Robinson

Art Collecting on Time or Loan

Of course I collect art, I work at a museum. I've seen a rise in something lately that puts more art into homes. One is 'permanent loan' that comes with documents and gets art out of closets and from under the beds of some artists. This coming week, I am going to get a chance to look at some work of Mark Steven Greenfield with the possibility of that permanent loan thing, that's permanent until the artist wants it back or you decide you might want to pay for it. The other is that more artists are taking the risk of giving art to someone with a promise to pay. Recently, I was admiring a Teresa Tolliver seated porcelain woman in a luscious green that a friend has and mentioned it to Teresa. She said, "Well, I'll make you one." I thought that would be amazing but doubted that I could afford it. She said, "Oh you can pay me on time." I jumped at the idea. She brought my lovely large woman seated in blue to me over the weekend. I placed her in my living room and am sitting and watching her now as she stares up at the nightsky, head tilted at an angle that is pleasing. "Teresa in Blue" is naked and her body does much of the same thing my body does when seated, sort of relaxes. She is wide bottomed and small breasted, how could I not love her? So now, thanks to the generosity of the artist, I will own her in full by Black History Month next year. That is such great news for Ruth Adkins Robinson

I Don't Like Ellen de Generis

I guess I got on this subject because of the New York decision to uphold gay marriage --which I completely endorse. Some comic said they deserve to be as unhappy as the rest of us. By now, anybody who reads this knows I don't believe in marriage, but I believe you should have the right to chose. Talking about this today, I snarled when somebody brought up Ellen's unsuccessful marriage. They wondered why I don't like Ellen. Simple. I don't not like Ellen because she is a lesbian, I don't like her because she trampled on writers like me back during our useless strike. She never missed a show, just kicked the writers under the bus. Before that, I watched her ever day. I will never watch her again. See, I believe that people who face prejudice every day for anything, ought to feel a little more empathy for a cause. It's funny I have a girl friend who came out ten years after we all knew she was a lesbian. She was my dearest friend and I valued her, but to my shock and dismay, her new mate turned out to be racist. A bigoted lesbian is an oxymoron if I ever heard of it. Celebrations all around today for the gay and lesbian friends of Ruth Adkins Robinson

Pho on You

Because I've traveled the world, I've had the opportunity to try some fantastic, exotic, sometimes wonderful, sometimes genuinely scary bad food. I like to think I'm daring when it comes to experimenting with food, like the live and still squiggling sushi I ate in Tokyo one year while Tats Nagashima did all he could not to laugh at my terror. But there are other happier experiences --my first escargot with Phyllis McGuire in New York, my first uni with Robbie Porter in Cannes. A few years back, my dear friend Bruce Wolman took me way out in the hinderlands of Los Angeles to where the Vietnamese ex-pats settled. Bruce promised me that I would so love the Pho soup. He was so right! We went back several times before he up and moved back to Norway and Washington, so there I was Pho-less. Recently I saw one of the new cooking shows called "Outrageous Food" or something like that and there they were cooking Pho which is extraordinarly complicated to do (who knew??). My mouth was watering after the show, so I went and looked up Viet food to see if I could find a place anywhere nearer my home than those aforementioned hinderlands. Voila, there it was--right by where I shop in Westfield Shopping Town. I went the very next day and since I'm greedy and really like what I really like, I ate a bowl on the spot and took another one home to eat later that night. I have been back four times in two weeks. Now I have to invite Bruce to come back from Norway and have yummy Pho with Ruth Adkins Robinson.

In love with Alex Massie

I am pretty sure I am in love with Alex Massie. No, I wouldn't recognize him if he walked in the front door of my cottage right now, but reading what he writes gives me goose bumples. He has written extensively about Sarah Palin in his blog in London's Spectator and every time I read what he writes, I nod my head and laugh out loud. When he called her a 'troll' it was funny, when he described her blatant attempt for attention by twisting her try at seeing the very distinguished Lady Margaret Thatcher into nearly a fait accompli, I just wanted to tell the world --go read this man's writing. You will enjoy it as much as Ruth Adkins Robinson.

Black Music Directors

Long ago, you never saw a black music conductor tv. Well, not so long ago really. When I was a little kid, there were a few variety shows, chief among them was Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. Accoring to Cornelius Grant, esteemed source of lots of things music, the only person of any color that the musical director of that show would give up his podium for was Maurice King. "Pops" as he was affectionately known was an elegant old man when I met him, still full of music and stories. All about the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, little Gladys Knight, of course, those Motown memories and a lucky few of us got to hear him talk. Well on Wed. June 8 at the California African American Museum, there is a program called "Shaping the Sound of Television," the Black Music Directors. Yep, there's enough for an actual panel. Moderated by sweet, supertalented Patrice Rushin, the panel of Michael Bearden "Lopez Tonight," Ray Chew, "American Ido," Rickey Minor, "Jay Leno," Greg Phillinganes, "Surprise Oprah!" Harold Wheeler, 14 years on Dancing with the Stars and James "Big Jim" Wright from the Mo'Nique Show and now a whole bunch of people are going to get to hear them. Lucky you if you got a private invitation. Come by and listen right along with Ruth Adkins Robinson

Our Phonebook

Phonebooks come in all shapes and sizes and our reaction to their contents are based in pure emotions. We used to carefully choose where we wanted to put those treasured numbers --from the little black book to my own pink leather number. Before we started using our phones for phonebooks, those you hold in your hand and write into could get really tattered. Take the case of my old friend Sammy Davis Jr. His phone book had pages falling out of it and looked like an elephant had stepped on it. And guess what, on ebay right now Sammy Davis's beat-up phone book is up for auction with an opening bid of 8,000. wish I had a spare 8k and I'd buy because Mr D. is still so inportant to me, although he's been dead 20 years now. When it first went up for auction, a friend of mine called me up to stay Sam's phone book was up on eBay and "Hey, Ruth, your name and number is in there." Sammy is still in my pink book. Oddly enough, I can't seem to erase anyone who is in there, even if they've been gone for a long time. Ray's private number is in there and that number is finally no good. They disconnected it a whole two years after his death. Hitting a delete button on the phone is a lot easier than erasing or blocking out a number on a page. I just looked through my book and so help me there is somebody under each page of the alphabet that is not good any longer. It speaks to the truth of my lawyer friend Jeffrey who said, "Face it Ruth, we are at a time of our lives that we go to more funerals than weddings!" Well having said that, let me encourage all my 'old' friends to go marry somebody, I'll come to the wedding and your new phone number with go into the pretty pink phone book of Ruth Adkins Robinson

Ruth Hasn't Been Writing

Sorry my friends, I've been extra nuts lately and writing so much that I haven't had time to write for myself. But I'm back. My target is five times a week to talk about what I'm doing, thinking, wishing and dreaming. Here's some bullet points of writing assignments RIGHT NOW. I'm doing the package for honoree Keenen Ivory Wayans Entertainment Icon award at the American Black Film Festival. I'm writing the show for the Heart & Soul Awards next month in DC. I am working like a maniac trying to pull all the elements together for my exhibit opening at the California African American Museum July 14, called "Women: Game Changers, Less Known, Here Celebrated." Seventy women in ten categories including She Heals, She Got Game, Sisters-in-Arms, Museum Women, High Flyers, Mavericks...and more. The number of women who have achieved amazing things surprises Ruth Adkins Robinson.