Clouds and Candy

Iron Mike

2009-04-10T05:33:00.002-04:00

I was mesmerized by this man when I was a kid. The question was never "will he win?" it was, "how quickly?". Now that Im grown, and Ive watched his descent, Im no less spellbound.

Counting Sheep

2009-04-10T03:41:00.003-04:00

Generally, I prefer goats, but Im pretty sure you wouldn't be able to coax them into these sorts of shenanigans. Hey, Ive heard of farmers doing worse to their herds...

Subway Talk

2009-04-07T19:57:00.000-04:00

Writers Bench from Miss Tint on Vimeo.

Wayne's Grill

2009-01-30T01:18:00.002-05:00

Is it just me or is Wayne sporting some crazy looking porcelain caps on his teeth?
Anyway, here's a clip from the Katie Couric interview.
I wonder if she went home and cried in the shower with a brillo pad after staring directly at Wayne for that hour...

Watch CBS Videos Online

Veg Porn

2009-01-27T16:35:00.002-05:00

Im generally not a fan of Peta. They have always felt heavy handed and overly idealistic. Seeing that my family was raised on money made on the manufacturing of leather clothing didn't exactly make me any more receptive to their tactics. That all being said: I agree that the American mass cattle and poultry farming industry needs a serious overhaul, but I still believe in the food chain. Personally, I only eat what I would likely be able to catch and kill myself (and the occasional bit of kangaroo meat, they're the deer of Australia), but Im a big fan of a beet or an asparagus based meal.

I love my greens, just not in that way....

Now, Let's Get Back to Business

2009-01-23T02:33:00.002-05:00

As seen On SuperTouchArt.com

The Power of Numbers

2009-01-20T12:42:00.002-05:00

44
Impeccability, desire with insight, wisdom with reason, intensity, conviction, adeptness, heroism, self-control, discipline, controlled energy focussed.

8 represents material accomplishment -- money, material freedom, business, high finance, control, power, success, achievement, recognition, profit, executive ability, management, authority, fairness, and responsibility.

44 represents a higher octave of 8

Lets continue to hope and change together.....

I Have No Lambo....

2009-01-19T22:09:00.000-05:00

Jeezy "My President is Black"

Obey

2009-01-19T19:18:00.004-05:00

"Spread My Arms, Gonna Meet You in the Sky"

2009-01-19T17:16:00.004-05:00

Young Jeezy has had a big couple months with "My President is Black'. Ever since election day (and a lil bit before) his track has been pumping out of car windows, at clubs, and of course, at victory parties. Last night he even caught a legitimate interview on ABC news. Jeezy got joined by Jay-Z on stage the other night for a little freestyle of what may or may not be Obamas morning theme song. Hell, my president has a stack of mixtapes to choose from at this point.

Jay-Z My President is black Remix LIVE 1-18-09 from pleasedontstare on Vimeo.

What You Know about That?

2009-01-05T17:19:00.002-05:00

This is nerdy as all hell....and I dont care

and a happy new year

2009-01-02T00:48:00.000-05:00

Santa Baby

2008-12-26T10:26:00.002-05:00

Eartha Kitt passed this xmas at the age of 81, but this song will live on.
New York Times article

Sweet Dreams

2008-12-23T18:03:00.001-05:00

Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Crush & Lovely on Vimeo.

I'd wake up on the beach, on Big Island, and go for a wake-up swim with the turtles....how about you?

That's So Gay

2008-12-17T14:04:00.004-05:00

When I went away to school in Massachusettes (almost a decade ago, yikes!) it felt like everyone would say "that's so gay" ALL the time. I was offended at first, then sort of let it get drowned out. There was no way that I was gonna change the lexicon of an entire campus. When I came home for a break and spent some time with one of my dearest friends, somehow that phrase passed my lips, and I saw his heart sink. I think I didnt even finish my statement when I began appologizing and explaining my inundation into stupidity.

Prop 8 was a huge set back. Not just for same-sex marriage rights, but for human rights, and most of all our current fantasy of true progress and "CHANGE".

Nuance is everything...

How It's Going to End

2008-12-16T15:51:00.004-05:00

They've begun dismanteling Astroland a few weeks ago. Eviction date is Jan. 31st. The rocket is looking for a home, the rides are gonna live on as far away as Australia, and I just welled up over the sight of the bumble bee and the apple ride. One of my favorite childhood pictures was taken on that ride. My mom: young and pretty. Me: barely a yard tall, wearing a purple jumpsuit, tall brown boots, and a fraggle fur coat. I wish I could have that day and that outfit again.

With New York in a state of financial panic, and Thor equities getting their plans shut down by the city, one is left wondering about the fate of Coney. Maybe it's time for a facelift, I just hope the bandages don't stay on too long.

Good-Bye Kisses

2008-12-14T19:29:00.001-05:00

"You and Your Friends Vs. Me and the Revolution"

2008-12-12T23:04:00.008-05:00

The New Yorker shows up at my door, every Tuesday. It doesnt let me catch up on other reading, so Im usually fighting against the clock just to finish one before the next shows up. This week it struck a few personal cords.

During an interview with Naomi Klein (the lady working on moving the center of politics and understanding generation branding iron), she touched upon the energy of the pre-9/11 globalization movement. She talks about Quebec City during the Summit of the Americas in 2001. April 19, 20, and 21 as I recall. We missed Extravaganja, and thats hard for the young and outraged.

" ...when the officials surrounded themselves with a tall protective fence, a group of activists built a medieval-style wood catapult and lobbed Teddy bears over the top."

We presumed it was Ya Basta, the Italian yippies that also wore full body armor made of stuffed animals. I have a picture up close of that catapult. It was glorious.

" 'Quebec City was just madness,' she says, 'It was one of those times when nobody knows what's going to happen, and there are these breakthrough moments, these liberated moments, of euphoria. It was mostly young people, and they were getting gassed, but they were still enjoying themselves tremendously, playing cat and mouse with the police. What I loved about it was that the whole city joined in - people working in cafes on the main streets, and neighbors got buckets of water to wash out people's eyes. It was like an alternative reality.' "

When we left the country, we expected the border police to hassle us.
"Did you get wet kids?"
"What? The rain? It wasn't that bad."
"We meant the hoses. Have a good day."

The next editorial was about Derrick Parker, he just released a book "Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from the NYPD's First "Hip-Hop Cop". Starts explaining the politics of urban nightlife, he's got a security service now. He still recognizes people he's arrested and investigated from his detective days, but he's been retired since 2002.

"Guys I arrested back in the day are surprised I still remember their real names, their priors, what they did time for, the names of their baby mamas.....A couple of years ago, at this club called Avalon, this dude tried to slip by with his hat down over his face, and I looked and I recognized him. It was a guy who'd been an enforcer for some Brooklyn drug dealers called the Ortiz brothers, Dominican guys. While he was working for them, this guy had a guy handcuffed in a bathroom and he was beatin' him tryin' to find out what he'd done with some moneyhe owed the Ortiz brothers, and this guy gets carried away and he kills him. So now he doesn't know what to do, so he cuts the guy up into parts, and later the victim's bones were found in trash bags beside the highway. The guy eventually got arrested for something else, and he turned state's evidence for the Feds...he was out in eleven years.

"Anyway, as he was goin' by me at Avalon, I said to him, 'So you still like to use cutting tools?' and he said, 'Aww, Parker, man, don't be bringin' that old stuff up, all that's in my past, I did eleven years, I got my life back now.' Later I told the promoter, I said 'What can I do, man? He was dressed properly, according to the U.S. government, he's paid his dues.' "

That's the guy that I narrowly averted having to serve on jury duty for, to determine if he was gonna be looking at the chair. He must have not finished paying his debt.

I Don't Believe in Umbrellas

2008-12-10T17:08:00.002-05:00

But I believe in this one. Next time I almost get hit in the face with an errant midtown umbrella spoke, I'll be thinking about this little bruiser. Or maybe I should just invest in a four-finger ring and call it a day.

We Go..."Whatever"

2008-12-08T18:09:00.001-05:00

Thank you Pixar...

A Message from the Brooklyn Tourism Board from jeff on Vimeo.

Going Hard

2008-12-04T03:38:00.001-05:00

Done by Evan Roth of Graffiti Research Lab (who I love)....

Jay-Z on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

Magic Doors

2008-12-01T23:27:00.001-05:00

"Im a Brooklyn Boy, Might Take Some Getting Used to!"

2008-12-01T21:14:00.002-05:00

Yet another (obvious) reason to look forward to the B.I.G biopic....the soundtrack is gonna be hot. Other than the expected BadBoy fare from the vaults, looks like theres gonna be some real banging new tracks.

Brooklyn We Go Hard!

Thanks to Jerry Island for posting this and making this night shift more tolerable...

True Blu

2008-12-01T20:48:00.001-05:00

Wishing for Popcorn

2008-11-14T20:49:00.001-05:00

..And Then, He Did

2008-11-12T20:26:00.002-05:00

There might be one man happier then the rest of us with the election outcomes, and no, I dont mean the big O himself. According to Supertouch, Shepard Fairey (AKA Obey) may see his portrait of President-elect Obama find a home in the Smithsonian. Originally created as the centerpiece of the "Manifest Hope" art show during the DNC (where Fairey also happened to get arrested for...wait for it...vandalism! Duh.) the museum is currently raking up the cash to put the infamous vandal in its prestigious halls.

This campaign continues to prove, there's a first time for EVERYTHING.

Image from Supertouch

Obsession of the Day

2008-11-10T16:49:00.003-05:00

Racist, ridiculous, and generally offensive, I gotta admit: I cant stop watching Busta shake em!

Did a ton of photo uploading (after a nearly 2-year hiatus), so click on the flickr badge on the left and take a stream bath...

What's inside?
+ Brooklyn
+ Walls
+ Art Shows
+ Studio Visits
+ General Ephemera

C215

2008-10-18T11:02:00.001-04:00

This guy is on my short-list of who I look for on the walls. Keep an eye out, he gwan do big 'tings.

Your Boy Got Jokes!

2008-10-17T11:48:00.002-04:00

Whether he wins or not, I gotta say I really enjoy listening to this man speak. Granted if he wins, he will eventually get around to saying things I don't want to hear, but still.

Federation of Light

2008-10-13T23:36:00.002-04:00

Im not endorsing anything. Im just saying that tonight there was a crazy halo around the moon so we were up on the rooftop looking at it, and my friend informed me of this Federation of Light theory. So Im sharing it with you.

Swooning Down the Hudson

2008-10-11T23:16:00.004-04:00

This opening and show made me incredibly happy, especially the marching band that suddenly started playing R. Kelly "Ignition" (and made me daydream about having a marching band that spontaneously broke into Salt & Pepa's "Push It"). Everything about this installation is so lovely and dreamlike on the grandest of scales. If you haven't seen it yet, you've got til October 19.

Kudos to Scribe Media

Now, with Less Stencils!

2008-10-09T12:50:00.005-04:00

Banksy's newest show is definitely a bit different. Open til Halloween, so cruise by (it's visible at all hours): 89 Seventh Ave South, between west 4th and Bleeker.

Love Lockdown

2008-10-07T18:11:00.002-04:00

See this is what happens when MTV stops playing videos. Ellen gotta come through and do the countdown. Now that's some real post-modern ish when daytime talk-shows have an edge on music because all MTV has is golddiggers fighting for dates with has-beens. I wonder what Jerry Springer has to say about it.

Kanye- Love Lockdown

Id be in the fetal position too if day-glo tribal warriors stormed through my apartment every time I crushed on the wrong dude.

CookiePuss

2008-10-06T12:03:00.002-04:00

In honor of the original Carvel shuttering its doors this weekend, here's a sweet reminder of birthday parties gone by...

"She purchased them at the flea market"

2008-09-30T17:28:00.002-04:00

Thank you MissBehaveMag

Oh man...you think Paul Wall has nightmares about this sort of thing?

The Meaning of Numbers

2008-09-30T11:00:00.002-04:00

"According to the tradition of Himalayan masters, 777 is the number of the celestial man and symbolizes the transmutation which takes place at the time where the man becomes conscious of the necessity to cover the path of initiation, and that he perceives, even of an elementary manner, that the goal is in God."
from RidingtheBeast.com

"And as that $700 billion financial rescue plan went down, the Dow went down like a sub, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points in its largest one-day point drop ever, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason.

"Nobody could believe it," said Ted Weisberg of Seaport Securities. "The fact that it did not get done is just mind-boggling." The result on Wall Street was a history-making 777-point nosedive. The Nasdaq plunged almost 10 percent."
from CBSnews.com

Shana Tova, 5769 is off to an interesting start....

Side By Side

2008-09-29T12:38:00.001-04:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

For My Hooligans From Brooklyn...

2008-09-25T15:43:00.002-04:00

Shockingly enough, Diddy doesnt play every character ala Tyler Perry

Residential Erection

2008-09-23T21:01:00.004-04:00

Creative Time put on a great many beautiful pieces at the Democracy in America: The National Campaign show. Stephen Powers Water Board Thrill Ride,

Duke Riley's submarine,

that made its way into the waters of Red Hook (and I so envied in August 07)...along with anarchist ice cream trucks, Chomskyisms, and more than a few compelling installations, definitely worth the trip uptown after work.

What really stuck out (beyond the eerily perfect choice of the armory, and the velvet and Hors d'oeuvres reception in the backdrop) was Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung's film "Residential Erection".

Im not going to try and describe it, but you should click HERE and see it yourself.

Outsiders

2008-09-22T17:05:00.002-04:00

Oh boy, oh boy! Those of you who visit regularly know that I am a big fan of JR & Blu. Im super excited to learn that JR's recent additions to the the LES (below)are timed with the Lazarides Gallery show "Outsiders" which includes:

Faile, Paul Insect, JR, Antony Micallef, Jonathan
Yeo, Miranda Donovan, Invader, David Choe, Mark Jenkins, Todd
James, Vhils, Polly Morgan, Mode 2, BAST, Conor Harrington and Zevs

Oh Boy!

Full Scope

2008-09-22T11:44:00.003-04:00

Lil Wayne is Inspirational

2008-09-19T17:41:00.002-04:00

Other than this video/song just being hilarious, these dutch dudes have aped Weezys style over that "Milli" beat so well, I wish I had an audio file of it.
"Olafur! Olafur! What is in your brain?" "Three tigers, two bears, and a shark on cocaine!"
Those waterfalls have been irritating me for months...Thank you ModernJackass (and Gothamist)

And speaking of jackass....Diddy is a swagger-jacker and dances in his jammies.

What's the Matter? Your Shoes on Too Tight?

2008-09-17T12:18:00.006-04:00

Insa takes his sexy heel images, and bestows upon the world ...Sexy heels!

It makes a girl almost want to brave the blisters...almost.

Here's a throw back to a previous post:

Nagi Noda

2008-09-11T23:35:00.002-04:00

Young, lovely and eccentric, Nagi Noda passed away yesterday.

rest in peace

Women Are Heroes

2008-09-09T12:28:00.001-04:00

And so is JR...

SwitchBack

2008-09-08T14:39:00.002-04:00

Image from SuperTouch

Last night I hit the opening of Swoon's, Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea, and although the boats were glorious (and I practically howled at the moon for not being able to board one) the real treat was the MASSIVE installation Swoon put together in the Deitch LIC space.

The two sisters of the Switchback embraced each other amidst a drove of Swoons characters, found materials, paper cuts, wheat pastes, wood carvings, and a handful of vintage snapshots. I killed my camera getting close-ups.

Scribe Media did a piece on the install...update later with a link.

Im looking forward to the performances this weekend. Nothing like bike-punks turned boat-punks rocking pirate gear and singing to the masses.

Banksy updates...

2008-09-04T11:34:00.002-04:00

Pre Gustav:

Now:

The KKK took my baby away:

Thanks Supertouch

I play Tetris in my Eyelids...oh

2008-09-04T11:04:00.000-04:00

Sam3

2008-09-04T10:56:00.000-04:00

Always makes me smile...

Bang Bang Hiss

2008-09-03T17:28:00.001-04:00

Watch through past the weird commercial, they go for a tour of the the buildings guts.

Get It Up

2008-09-03T11:53:00.003-04:00

Ive been addicted to this track for the last few weeks. Love the chanting, the drums, the everything...go grab it up!

Esau Mwamwaya, Santogold, M.I.A and Radioclit

Road Trippin'

2008-09-02T23:58:00.002-04:00

Banksy- Birmingham, AL

and New Orleans...

Funny HAHA

2008-09-02T12:43:00.003-04:00

...because my kitchen cabinet is mysteriously filled with gold sparkles, and I dont even own any.

GreenPix

2008-08-27T14:07:00.001-04:00

Solar art-chitecture...I likes it. Thanks ScribeMedia

Scream For Reals!

2008-08-26T00:14:00.002-04:00

A good friend of mine has been starting her day watching this commercial, as a Chi-town throwback, and passed along the love. She's right, Moo def can take it to the streets with those moves.

File Under: In Progress

2008-08-21T14:49:00.004-04:00

So I've been working on a few things lately. Mainly, putting together a piece on AIKO, and trying to find a happy home for it. I've been meeting up with her on the regular, and enjoying watching the pieces for the upcoming show at Brooklynite Gallery come together.

Those are some of the 400+ handmade invites...

Just set-up an interview with DAIN for next week, and Various and Gould for this weekend. All of them are in the
"Time Machine" show. Also, Brooklynite Gallery.

Here's Gould:

And a cool project Various has been working on called Papergirl (which just hit it's third cycle...no pun intended):

JR Does it Again

2008-08-19T16:58:00.002-04:00

JR hits the faevela with his larger than life portraits, this time shining a light on the woman that keep the community grounded.

Check out the whole project: Women are Heroes

Circa '68

2008-08-13T11:39:00.003-04:00

Seeing as Im obviously 2 months behind on this, which in net years is like decades, I still gotta say this is making me smile all cheesy. Its got that Laugh-In/Benny Hill vibe, and the only thing that would have made it better is if Dizzee and David Byrne rode through at the end on a bicylce built for two.

Tricked Out Trinies

2008-08-07T14:00:00.004-04:00

This has me wondering if Trinidad is infested with these dope DIY party bikes. Definitely rolling on that slow island vibe with that much weight, but then again once they start peddling they're already AT the party.

Losers

2008-07-29T13:45:00.001-04:00

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

The Hard Sell

2008-07-18T11:02:00.004-04:00

Serendipity rides again! There I was resigned to not having tix to Cut Chemist & DJ Shadow at McCarren Pool last night, when low and behold, I was able to call in a favor. Thank the God's of tech crews and comp tickets!

When I arrived, my friend Adam informed me that he was the one who had happened upon the rotting corpse in the tool shed during set-up. Ewww...that's quite the cup of morning coffee.

Anyway, here's the film that kicks the set into gear. It had been since The Private Press release that I had gotten to see Shadow, and since the second Bonnaroo since I saw Cut Chemist, so it was far beyond due time for my personal reunion with the vinyl fondlers....

Portrait of Silvia Elena

2008-06-18T11:28:00.002-04:00

A truly beautiful and unique exhibit...it might be too late for some of you to crawl down the rabbit-hole but watch the video, courtesy of those sharp-shooters at Scribe Media.

Oh Blu

2008-05-11T22:00:00.001-04:00

Playing Misty

2008-04-14T02:05:00.002-04:00

Sun is Shining...almost

2008-04-08T03:05:00.002-04:00

Ive been slowly coming out of my abysmal hibernation. Solar power is the (my) future, the Aztecs had the right idea. Here's a little springtime ode to Mr Sun, and a nod to his jealous lover the Moon. She needs some shine time after all.

Sunrises
on the hook,
gray,
trees mistake
between day and nights
full Moon

Only a Crisis, Actual or Perceived

2008-03-27T05:51:00.004-04:00

Naomi Klein's "No Logo" shook up, at least our generation's, understanding of brand marketing and consumer culture. She is now turning a critical eye towards the Post 9/11 world and its roots deep within a malevolent mechanisms. "Shock Doctrine" examines scare tactics and our disaster economy......check the short

Beautiful Impossibilities

2008-02-29T20:02:00.003-05:00

Though this seems like the most beautiful of impossibilities, I am hopeful for Steve's mission. It would not resolve the injustices in the world, but it certainly would be a gesture of the human spirit striving towards a higher realm of coexistence.

Greener Gadgets Conference

2008-02-13T12:23:00.002-05:00

Chris Jordan was the opening keynote speaker for Greener Gadgets which i was lucky enough to attend a few weeks back. He also went on to show similar images including daily plastics, office paper, and soda-can consumption and it was truly startling, and made a terrific point about the environment movement.

What he said was it was missing a clear leader, and more importantly a "cool" leader, and that Al Gore no matter how hard he tried wasn't going to do it. It was his appeal to the electronics industry, since they seem to be the only playing field where "coolness" really exists within the consumer market (i.e the excitement and hype surrounding the release of every new computer and cellphone), and that what we need is the Michael Jordan of environmentalism to hit the scene. No, really, he said this and it was amazing. "Remember when Michael Jordan walked onto the courts wearing those long shorts, and he was so cool. Everyone wanted to be like Mike. He changed the look of basketball, because everyone wanted to wear those shorts, and be as cool as him. We need that."

Anyway, I have more to say about Greener Gadgets later, including insights on kinetic energy, pollution sniffing dogs, and One LapTop Per Child.

Just Sayin.....

2008-01-08T01:21:00.000-05:00

A Mans World

2007-12-24T12:12:00.000-05:00

Last year, James Brown departed the Earth to spend Christmas in Heaven. Here's a hadnful of funky reminders of what made this man so great.

Check that chest weaponary...

Lovin the astrological breakdown

Godfathers of unity (and '80s neon after FX)

Places I Remember

2007-12-24T02:35:00.000-05:00

Paradise Gate
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, 2001.
Photographer: Stephen Petegorsky.

I really miss wandering through this castle, over the red bridge, across the tennis courts, to trespass on the property of the deinstitutionalized asylum. Ahhhh...memories.

Patrick Dougherty builds amazing structures from tree samplings, and I hope to one day live inside (or at least beside) one of them.

Here's the man at work:

X-mas Card

2007-12-23T13:14:00.000-05:00

Santa Baby....

2007-12-11T12:19:00.000-05:00

Probably the closest representation of the holiday spirit (or at the very least in geographical proximity), Santa's Ghetto has set up shop on Manger Street in Bethlehem across from the Church of Nativity. Combining the great passions of my life: street art, politics, and holiday spectacle; some of today's most influential and recognizable graffito's create a thing of beauty out of the divisionary wall (reminiscent of the art created on the Berlin Wall). Proceeds of all sales are going to projects for local children and youth, and Santa assures those ready to dole out a few shekles for a good cause, that "not one cent will go to any political groups, governmental institutions or, in fact, any grown-ups at all."

Get in touch with the spirit!Santa's Ghetto 2007

Be a Pal

2007-11-29T20:38:00.000-05:00

Sign the petition to get the Bay Ridge Ferry up and running again....or I very well may never see you again.

Liberate the North American recluse!

Be Still My Aching Metrocard

2007-11-25T12:29:00.000-05:00

Ever since moving to my lovely (and reclusive) apartment, I have been hunting for an easier route to make my way back to humanity. One day I wandered down towards the Navy Yard and saw a sign for a ferry. A ferry!! Oh boy, oh boy, a pretty and quick commute! But alas, no schedules around, no ferry to be found. A single water taxi, with no cabbie. Boo.

But today on GreenBrooklyn.com I came upon an article about the Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliancce working towards restoring this ferry that would make the commute (wait for it) 15 minutes! Wow...I'll be keeping my ears to the ground for this to come to fruition.

Salt Water Sound

Open Air

2007-11-24T11:58:00.000-05:00

OPEN AIR from knox on Vimeo.

Run those yards!

Its Been Ages!

2007-11-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, an entire season has almost come and gone, and here I am shirking my writerly duties....or rather Im writing often and alot and shirking my bloggery....

Either way Im usually in the midst of shrugging off many a thing, so here's my peace offering to any readers who still exist (is there anybody out there?), a small sampling of what's running amok in my conscience. It's really more like a clown car in there so don't try and make sense, just take this as a reintroduction. The winter should provide me with more insights, and fascinations, I hope.

First thing in the morning,
as I wander betwixt imaginary boundaries,
I think of you and smile.

Germans Know How to Party

2007-08-16T00:13:00.000-04:00

Brave Little Soldiers

2007-08-15T18:09:00.000-04:00

JR vs Blu

2007-08-14T10:31:00.000-04:00

Speicher blu_mp4
Uploaded by urbangrassroots

Oh yes......

I just wanted to thumb-wrestle but....

2007-08-11T22:41:00.000-04:00

Ive got a bag of empty cans and some free time...

2007-08-10T16:34:00.000-04:00

Marine Mischief Causes Confusion in New York Harbor

NEW YORK (The New York Times)—As reported in the New York Times, Brooklyn artist Duke Riley was able to float a make-shift submarine within 200 feet of the cruise ship the Queen Mary 2, which was docked in Red Hook. Riley’s performance art project was halted by the New York City Police Department and the Coast Guard, with the artist and his two assistants taken into custody for their stunt. Made to resemble the Turtle, a Revolutionary War era submarine, Riley's vessel was fabricated from plywood coated with fiberglass. The sub is scheduled to go on display soon at the Chelsea gallery Magnan Projects, after it and its captain have dried off.

Check the images:HERE
And seriously, if anyone feels like they need to explore some bad ideas in submarine construction with me, the door is ALWAYS open (and can we maybe build a fort out of couch cushions too?)

Listen to THIS and get yourself in the mood.

Drifting Away

2007-07-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

Bill Pinkney 1925-2007

He knew some things about L O V E

Reclaiming Design

2007-07-09T17:27:00.001-04:00

These pieces are amazing and a responsible way towards chic living. Makes me wish twice as hard that I had a fully stocked workbench.

My Geekiest Blog Yet...

2007-07-08T16:41:00.000-04:00

Since I'm a nerd, and totally addicted to both dashboard and reading the days headlines, me and the CNN widget have been tight since day one. Our relationship was honest, keeping tabs on goings on, quietly on the sidelines of each others day. And although I didn't always agree with what my little black, white, and red interface had to say I could at least look at it knowing it was trying to maintain a modicum of integrity.

Two days ago, or perhaps three, I hit the little refresh button and thought that there had been some glitch in my system. All these little hyperlinks were littering the sections directly below each headline, making it only possible for me to read 2 at a time! And for what? So that you could send it to facebook and digg it easier! Ugh...look, Im all for changing with the times, I just don't think it necessary to clutter up my headlines with what seem to be less than pressing issues. How could you know that you want to email/facebook/del.icio.us unless you've already read the story? Put it along the bottom of the actual story, or at the very least hire a decent web designer to make those hyperlinks (which are SECONDARY to the headlines) less visually obtrusive. Im saying, you're a multi-million dollar company you must know people who can provide this sort of service.

I'll always have a special place on my dashboard for you, but until you learn how to act, BBC widget with it's scrolling headlines and search bar are getting all your time.

And just to save face and thank you for bearing with my rant: Bad News

Face2Face Movie

2007-06-11T11:58:00.001-04:00

Face 2 Face - THE BOOK
Uploaded by 28millimetres

My favorite project of the past year.....

Made for Walking

2007-05-31T15:00:00.001-04:00

The only thing sexier than high heels and Prince, is Prince in high heels...

In Over Your Head

2007-05-22T04:19:00.000-04:00

Brave New York

2007-05-15T01:36:00.000-04:00

New York City circa 1988-2003
(By Richard Sandler, the filmmaker responsible for "The Gods of Times Square", which youve probably never seen or heard of but should have. Go dig it up in a video store with a good cult/indie section. And I do mean video store.)

The New Commandments

2007-05-11T14:21:00.000-04:00

*thanks to Domer for linking me this

Unabashed Cloud-Humping

2007-05-07T17:33:00.000-04:00

Eden Goes Dark- Domer

Finding a balance between melancholy growls and joyful indifference, Domer takes you through the stress and struggle of yet another city day on, Work With Me. Playful and dark in the same breath, "Whistler" is a jaunty depressives walk through the park, and "Tacky Shoes" nearly begs for a euro-house remix. With a truly original approach to beat making, never fully existing within a single genre, Domer stretches expectations beyond the 16 bars or verse-chorus-verse cubicles, into the land of the independent musical contractor.

Domer-You and Me

Look for him on UK label: Skipping Beats Records

...because I can't forget

2007-05-06T23:38:00.000-04:00

Everytime She Turns Around....

2007-04-25T03:18:00.000-04:00

...its her birthday
Ive got a bit of work to tend to. Perhaps not just tonight but in the next year(s) of my life. Thanks for checking in with me from time to time. I'll do my best in the realms of edu-tainment.

Peas and Carrots,
Clouds and Candy

No Such Thing as Neutral Space

2007-04-11T19:45:00.000-04:00

Suffice it to say, this is a near-future addition to my dvd library

The Nature of Permanence

2007-03-30T00:02:00.000-04:00

When I was a child in my fathers car, I would watch the city zip by from the back window and read the rooftops from the highway. I remember seeing COST REVS wheat-pastes on every crosswalk light in the city in the mid to late nineties. For a while I truly thought REVS was running for office.

One of my all-time favorite pieces I could only see from the BQE. REVS image of Sisyphus pushing the stone of Life up the hill with a checkerboard beneath him. I found what seems to be a recreation of that piece a few weeks back in East Williamsburg. It was a strangely sentimental moment.

REVS journey as an artist has always amazed me. He wrote a book inside the tunnels of the subway. Each wall a new page of his life. I mean this in the most literal of senses. He wrote his story deep in those tunnels and I always dreamt of reading them first hand. For now I just collect snippets.

Thanks to Wooster Collective for posting this video today, to help me remember the writer who made me look at each wall twice.

"Spilling whiskey and learning songs for The ONE that got away"

2007-03-18T00:52:00.000-04:00

Rotoscoped live performance of Tom Waits circa 1979.....

The original live action was shot with 5 cameras - 2 high, 2 low and one hand held. The music from "The One That Got Away" blared in the background as Tom sang karaoke style different lyrics on each take. Two strippers, 6 takes and 13 hours of video footage were edited to make this 5 1/2 minute live action short which was then turned into animation.

Even animated he's the hotness....

Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle...

2007-03-15T16:31:00.000-04:00

A worker of the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM) in Batu Maung, Penang, discovered this strange auqatic biped upon contemplating making lunch. The only thing that saved it from the soup pot was the Chinese belief that eating fish with unusual features could bring disaster or ill luck. It was later thrown back into the waters from whence it came, bogling the minds of local scientists who believe it must have swam into Malaysian waters from either North Sulawesi in Indonesia, or South Africa.

Who would have thunk it. Sharks are scary as it, the last thing they need is to learn how to run too....

In other new species news, the clouded leopard of Borneo and Sumatra has been discovered to be a seperate species from its cousins in mainland Southeast Asia.

Sometimes growing to the size of a small panther, the clouded leopard is the biggest predator in Borneo, equipped with the longest canine teeth, relative to body size, of any cat.

Its nice to know we are still evoloving, new islands springing up, fish with feet, and freshly discovered differentiations in species. So exciting! I hope they find one of those flying fish with feet, THAT would be the coolest animal ever made.

Banksy Feature- BBC Culture Show

2007-03-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

Living By Words Alone

2007-03-04T19:37:00.000-05:00

In the midst of a demonstration, a breaking moment of news, or near riot, there is a certain degree of bullet-proof delusion that cancels out the usual fear involved in such moments when you are reporting on the event itself. Your camera or recorder feel as if they are a shield between you and the rest of the world, since within the minds eye you have ceased to be a participant and have crossed into the realm of conscientious observer.

The fantasy of merely being the watchful eye is just that. Everyday reporters put themselves at risk, far more reality based than the fear of losing a lead or accidentally deleting that perfect shot. Those who report the wars are not just watching but become a part of them. Often used as pawns and leverage in negotions, these men and women take risks for a living.

The Committee to Protect Journalists keeps meticulous records of abuses to the journalistic community and offers help for those headed out on dangerous assignments or in the midst of capture or arrest in hostile environments.

Go check out their site: Committee to Protect Journalists and browse the press freedom archives for statistics on killings, abductions, and imprisonments. And after that consider giving them a donation, to help keep the project running.

"In the Image of God"

2007-03-01T13:12:00.000-05:00

Trailer for the Face2Face project:

Face2Face takes an up close and very personal look at that which divides us politically set against that which connects us on the very basic humanistic level. In an attempt to bring a bit of compassion and understanding to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, French photographer JR and North African mathematician Marco, have embarked upon this project to convert signals into messages and to connect art to action.

From Face2FaceProject.com:

"After a week, we had a conclusion with the same words: these people look the same; they speak almost the same language, like twin brothers raised in different families."

You can see more of JR's work on HERE