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Dear Troy, happy belated birthday, dear friend! May you be well, happy, full of abundance and joy, inspired, curious as ever, hilarious--that won't ever change.

The only art I get and appreciate are Ancient Greek statues of naked people, and Renaissance paintings also of naked people. They hold beauty and timelessness and value that money can't buy.

And the rich can buy all the digital rocks they want, seems like they have money growing out of their butts and don't know what to do with it (well, they could donate it to us lol).

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Thank you my dear! Gosh I wish I was a better visual artist, I have a lot of ideas about modern pop culture depicted as ancient myths, I think it would be super fun. Ah well, just my little scribblings... Again: so glad you are back with us.

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Not scribblings - deep and perceptive thoughts with a funny twist. Missed your work so much, dear Troy, and you of course.

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Aug 13, 2023Liked by Mr. Troy Ford

I will most likely be there with you!

A joy of a read as always, many a laugh elicited at the dialogue 😅

I remain somewhat baffled by NFTs. Doubly so when I read of the exploits of Hirst's The Currency. Just madness. Is he just seeing how far he can push ridiculousness of people? Is that the art of it? 🤷‍♂️

If you're ever in Hobart in Tasmania then definitely visit MOMA there. (if you haven't ever been of course.) A wild place of modern art that's well worth a trip.

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Thanks Nathan! I feel like I understand NFTs better after researching for this post - like anything, it has it's "uses" both good and bad, and as usual, there are people happy to exploit a new technology for personal gain. One aspect which I didn't look into (but remain concerned about) is the energy requirements of blockchain technology; I heard they made some changes to address the situation, but I don't fully understand the whole issue. "Progress" at all costs remains a fatal flaw in our software, I guess.

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Aug 14, 2023Liked by Mr. Troy Ford

Good points, Troy.

Yeah I think blockchain stuff (at least Bitcoin mining... ?🤷‍♂️) was heavily dependent upon GPUs, but that dependency has dropped in the last year or so due to [insert reasons].

I only really know secondhand because GPU pricing went insanely high but has since returned to a slightly more sensible (albeit still $$$) level.

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Aug 12, 2023·edited Aug 12, 2023Liked by Mr. Troy Ford

I will absolutely be among them, so maybe see you there…

I loved your conversation with Damien Hirst. Whenever I see his work now my eyes roll so far into the back of my head that I lose consciousness. Can’t get enough of Kusama, though!

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Cool, Chloe! Let's reclaim those crazy hats from the Handmaids and start a craze!! Kusama is my new favorite, her polka dot banquet ladies had me rethinking all my table settings. And I read an article that she's been living in an asylum for the last 40 years, sort of checked herself in for a tune-up awhiles back and just decided it suited her - not sure the details, but it sounds imminently sensible. I think it's love.

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Aah, a woman after my own heart…

I’m picturing polka dot Handmaids capes and bonnets in honour of her.

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Snoopy chairs are NOT stupid. I had a suffed snoopy when I was little and his head kept coming off....ok I may have ripped it off at some point in anger. I "stitched" it back together with a bunch of baby pins...it was rather ghastly....would have made an interesting couch...a bunch of snoopies with their heads stitched together a la highlander.

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"Stupid" purely from a laundering perspective...

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I suppose puppies make better coats than chairs...

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Now we're on the same page...

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That shark is going to stay with me. Not joking in the least. There is/was a Max Ernst painting of a bird in a bird cage in a forest somewhere in London that gave me the same creepy, intellectual terror.

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That's funny because the title really makes the piece for me... 🦈🦈🦈 In person, the stuff of nightmares for sure... Seen much Francis Bacon?

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Lots of prepositions there. The forest is not in London.😀

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I live for prepositions in birdcages in forests in London ;)

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Aug 11, 2023Liked by Mr. Troy Ford

Very clever, Dr. Jones...

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thanks shorty!

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I enjoyed the virtual tour of MOCO with the rapier wit of MTF. It was so fungible.

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haha all that dirty money - i need a funge bath :)

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Aug 11, 2023Liked by Mr. Troy Ford

I do have to visit the MOCO! I’ve always found that contemporary art stimulates me much more than the classics. I feel freer to hate it, love it, be bored by it or be disturbed by it. Makes me feel like being alive. As for NFT, I have yet to sit down and try to figure it out. At this point, it sounds to me snake oil. A bit of oil and no snake. But some appear to exploit it for gain, kinda like bitcoin. If folks play the game, it’s real. Like the fine art market, I guess. Always a pleasure reading your Friday post, Signor Troy.

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Yes! MOCO's just right, a charcuterie board - little of this, little of that.

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I laughed so hard at your ‘conversation’ with KAWS, I enjoyed your sassy tone all the way through, and I found myself nodding along in agreement with your exploration into the confusion and ridiculousness that is NFTs.

Great read Troy, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Thanks Michael! Really, those dishwater drab Snoopys were all I could see... 🤪

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Ohh, don’t worry, I believe you... ;)

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Could I get an NFT of an American-style cookie? Or maybe you could just describe it for me.

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A moment on the lips, a lifetime in the blips... :)

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I'll meet you in Luddite country... it's what they used to say about coke... the thing about having too much money. On the other hand, if somebody is willing to pay for that stuff, it's their business. Doesn't increase my grocery bill.

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I haven't been this jazzed to take vows since "Witness." ;)

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David! Brush with fame, eh? They were obviously shooting up formaldehyde... 🤪

I'm afraid any soundtracks playing in my head around BCN are drowned out by Eliza Doolittle's constantly screeching "MOVE YOUR BLOOMIN' ARSE!" Catalans are famously unyielding on sidewalks.

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