Jeff Herz - My View of the World: Remember the 5th of November
Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot ;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'Twas his intent.
To blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below.
Poor old England to overthrow.
By God's providence he was catch'd,
With a dark lantern and burning match
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip Hoorah !
Hip hip Hoorah !
A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope,
A farthing cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down,
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar,'
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head,
Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.
Jeff Herz - My View of the World: Attention Stamford Voters; Board of Education Endorsements
Net/Net, this year's election is a bit of a farce, since the city charter says the majority party (democrats) can have no more than 6 of the 9 seats, so that guarantees that at least 2 of the republicans (Pia, Olson or Pierre-Louis) running will win, even if they receive the least amount of votes. I guess they could win all 3 seats, but I seriously doubt that, since enough democrats will come out to vote in the Mayor's race to ensure one Dem will finish in the top 3.
In my opinion, Jerry Pia is a given, since he has name recognition, has been on the BoE in the past and is currently on the Board of Representatives. He is very experienced in the inner workings of the city and and might be able to help navigate the budget process more effectively and will fight to protect the schools educational needs
That leaves the only Olsen and Pierre-Louis as the remaining Republicans candidates of choice. Fred Pierre-Louis is very knowledgeable of the process, as he is a teacher in Naugatuck. He seemed smart enough in the debate I was at to say when he did not have enough information to answer a question, rather than try to sugar coat, and I can respect that intellectually. He supports middle school reform as he "is a doctoral student at U of Hartford and his research focuses on mixed ability, or heterogeneous, classes. A pilot project, done as part of his research, found that 14 low-achieving students placed in college prep courses came to think of themselves as college prep students." - Stamford Advocate
I dont know much about Olson, other than she is running on the same ticket as Pia and she could not attend the forum I attended as she claims she is sick with H1N1. She has gotten into a bit of hot water recently with the Catholic schools, since she claimed to have gotten sick as a nurse there, and has said that students at her school have contracted H1N1, though the Principal has denied any students have tested positive. Certainly rips her credible to shreds in my mind. She is also a former school nurse and health instructor in Stamford Public Schools, though I dont think this is sufficient enough to garner my support. The fact that she was unable to attend the forum I attended, sends a signal to me that she is not dedicated or committed in spite of being sick. This may not be a fair assessment, but all is fair in love, war and politics.
That leaves 1 seat for the 2 remaining democrats running. Polly Rauh has the greatest name recognition and is probably the most qualified and right now, and (imho) we need experienced people on the Board of Education to muddle through the process. However, she is for school choice (basically breaking the city into 4 quadrants and assigning 4 schools to that area and saying you can go to any of those schools) and I am not sure how feasible or realistic that really is going to be implement here, since there are much more pressing issues in this city right now.
I liked Naomi Chapman-Taylor but it will take her months to get acclimated and become productive. She has not been to enough BoE meetings to really know or understand the issues. If she comes on a regular basis, she could wind up being a good candidate next year.
I am supporting Jerry Pia, Fred Pierre-Louis and Polly Rauh. Each comes with their own pluses and minuses, but I feel that they are best candidates for Stamford now. Pia and Rauh are both experienced with the Stamford political scene as they are currently on the Board of Reps. Pierre-Louis is a high school teacher and is on the ground in the classroom and can speak first hand to the needs of students. I think a combination of both education and political experience is the leadership qualities which we need now.
The Advocate ran a bit of a profile on the candidates, that is worth a read.
See-ming Lee: How to use Gmail filters to maintain sanity with social media
One of the unfortunate side-effects when you belong to many social networks and subscribe to many listserv is the insane amount of emails you get on a daily basis. In this tutorial, I will illustrate how you can track these activities at your own pace and keeping your inbox tidy and maintaining an overall sanity in your very active technologically sound life.
Gmail Filters, in conjunction with Gmail Labels is all you need to achieve this. And is very simple to use as illustrated below:
This example illustrate how to take out those Twitter follow invites from your Inbox while allowing you to review them at your own pace.
1. Start by selecting Create a filter next to the search box.
2. In the Subject: field, enter "is now following you on Twitter!" and press Next Step > to continue.
3. Now choose the action you want to apply. You can do anything you want to it, but this is the common things that I do:
3A. Check Skip the Inbox (Archive it). This ensures that it will not show up in your inbox when it arrives.
3B. Create a new label in the Apply the label dropdown, or select an existing label that you would like to apply.
3C. If you are creating a new label, you might want to Also apply filter to conversations below. I guess I had 5000 follows on Twitter since I started using Gmail. Now *that* would be insane if I didn't use Gmail filters!
Don't be alarm if you think that you will never see them again since you have skip the inbox, they still show up in your filter list, and unread items still show up as bold.
I use Gmail filters for pretty much everything, and auto-archive most of the stuff that goes into my inbox, leaving it clutter-free only with important stuff that I need to get to. Here's a list of examples of where you would want to auto-filter:
1. Social network activites. I label all of these with a prefix soc: so they are grouped together nicely in the filter list. Aardvark, Facebook, FriendFeed, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter, or whatever. All gone. Best of all and especially for Facebook activities, I usually can just take a quick glance at the list titles to note the things that require actions, then select all and Mark as Read.
2. Listserv. Do you subscribe to a lot of listserv? Anyone of those IxDA list will turn your inbox into a nightmare!
3. Magazine subscription. I enjoy some of the publication alerts like MKQ and WSJ but they get scary very soon. I like keeping these as email items instead of just reading them in list readers so I can search for them later.
4. Google Alerts. Comes in thousands. Good to know when your stuff get blogged etc. This is especially useful if you license your content via Creative Commons.
5. Keywords. Some times come through in multiple places and does not have a particular subject / email address. Use keywords to bundle them up together.
6. Email addresses. Gmail support retrieving other external accounts. So you can use the same strategy to check your other mails, and also apply labels where necessary.
Jeff Herz - My View of the World: Another reason to avoid divorce
True story from Sweden some might enjoy.......
After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger woman. The downtown luxury apartment was in his name and he wanted to remain there with his new love so he asked the wife to move out and then he would buy her another place. The wife agreed to this, but asked that she be given 3 days on her own there, to pack up her things.
While he was gone, the first day she lovingly put her personal belongings into boxes and crates and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their candlelit Dining table, soft music playing in the background, and feasted on a pound of shrimp and a bottle of chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few of the resulting shrimp shells into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
The husband came back, with his new girl, and all was bliss for the first few days. Then it started; slowly but surely. Clueless, the man could not explain why the place smelled so bad. They tried everything; cleaned & mopped and aired the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned, Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in, the carpets were replaced, and on it went.
Finally, they could take it no more and decided to move. The moving company arrived and did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their new home. Including the (curtain rods).
Attention Stamford Voters and Parents: It is time for our voices to be heard, a unified parent community has to be heard in order to be effective: http://tinyurl.com/ylqxhmd
Jeff Herz - My View of the World: Attention Stamford Parents: Let your voice be heard in the upcoming Election
Friends,
As we approach this upcoming election, other interest groups are out there rallying the troops. It is time we, as parents, begin to flex our political muscle.
In this year's BOF election, we have a slate of candidates on the Democratic ticket that is more pro-education than we have seen in a very long time. Tim Abbazia, and John Louizos have always been supporters of the education budget and they are now joined on the ticket with Dudley Williams, a former BOE member and, in his role as a GE employee, the coordinator of GEs highly substantial educational grant to our district. I am not saying this because I’m a democrat (which I am not) or because I am a friend of theirs (I do not know any of these gentlemen personally)—we really just need the best people for the job. It just happens to be the case that these three Democrats represent our best chance to get BOF support for a strong education budget in the coming years.
And, while party politics SHOULD NOT matter, If Joe Tarzia and Bob Kollenberg, who have been staunchly in opposition to increases in the school budget, get more support and have leverage over more fellow Republicans on the BOF, we will only see a continuation of their clear agenda in recent years to push for significant cuts in our school budgets.
We only have a few days before the election. If a parent-based grassroots effort is going to work, it needs to have everyone's help. If everyone on this list could start the communications chain and begin to mobilize their respective communities and reach out to friends in other communities to do the same, we could make a considerable impact on election day--- and make it clear to these candidates that they should be beholden to us once in office as the interest group that got them elected.
If we don’t not make some noise and gain some political capital now, when it is most important, we will have no one to blame but ourselves when, in the months to follow, we see the BOF making dramatic cuts to the school budgets once again. Let’s show Stamford that the parent community is a force to be reckoned with. Let’s make it clear to our politicians that they need to support our schools, and that not doing so can have political consequences.
I hope you will join with me to make our voices heard. Together, we can make a difference.
Feel free to cut and paste in order to forward onto your friends
When I first saw her paintings I had originally thought that she had a graphic design background because of their calligraphic and typographic nature, but it turns out that she was educated in the UK at Loughborough College in 3D Design with a concentration in Jewelry and Silversmithing. Here's a short video interview where she talks about herself and her work:
http://www.choichun.com/artist.html
Choichun Leung left Wales when she was seventeen to pursue a degree in metal-smithing at Loughborough college of Art and Design in the UK, afterwhich she studied Buddhist iconography in both Beijing and the Yangkung caves in China's Shanxi province. In 1988 she moved to London where she studied under the Ray Man Chinese Orchestra as a percussionist and a student of the Gu-qin - a traditional Chinese bass zither. Leung worked in Hong Kong as a background artist for animation film before returning to London in 1992 where she received a grant and Gold Award from the Prince of Wales' Youth Business Trust for the most innovative new business of the year: a line of symbolic art products using the traditional technique of Chinese paper cutting. With music and the arts always hand in hand, Leung came to New York in 1994 where she began painting seriously, worked as an assistant to artist Peter Max, and studied music composition. From that point forward, Choichun's artwork has been inextricably entwined with her interest in music and have continued to influence each other. As the single mother of a young daughter, Choichun moved to Germany in 2002 to write music, perform and collaborate on an audio/visual project based in Koln. Upon the invitation of a gallery in 2006 she returned to New York. Most recently Choichun has been featured in two solo exhibitions at JLA Baxter House in Manhattan and will take part in a group showing in Hamburg in November 2008. Choichun currently lives in Brooklyn, NYC.
Artist Statement
http://www.choichun.com/artiststatement.html Our lives are as long as we remember. Our memories are imbedded in us like DNA. But what of lives that through trauma or age have lost memory? What of the interplay of conscious thought and the sub-conscious? Which one really drives the show? My paintings are like rorschach tests in reverse, a psychological diary of that moment in time, an investigation of the relationship between past and present, reality and illusion and in effect a blue print to the past self. Through the symbolisms revealed, and the stories or objects we project into the abstract, we expose another layer of ourselves and in turn provide clues to what may not be fully aware. My paintings are simple traces of that activity, void of any meaning, but imbedded with the years of experience that shapes us, yet also holds us hostage.
Choichun never paints from sketches but instead allows the process and medium dictate. Each application is an expressive gesture evoking the emotion and inner psychology of that moment, a conflicted excavation of what may be hidden or imagined. The script like lines emerge as a non-cognitive language or what she has come to identify as 'glyphs' - a pictographic personal alphabet; where 'glyphs' document the days, weeks and months spent on a piece. The one actual reference that Choichun can identify in her work after the fact springs from her background in music and her fascination with its chaotic notes and interpretive patterns. These can be seen in the work's fine, rhythmic and frenetic lines as well as in the heavier, poured-on, black & white 'mono-glyphs' which overtake the paintings like visual representations of a sound. Choichun paints on both wood panels and canvas, using liquid acrylic, aerosol, oil bars and thread . With sticks, brushes, trowels and vessels: applying the paint and then scratching through the layers to reveal what is underneath, scripting with ‘glyphs’ throughout, painting over, sanding down and repeating this process until an image is revealed or another is hidden.
1. Process + Methodology. Dean Russo chats with See-ming Lee (SML) and Mac Farr (MMF) about the process and methodology in creating his mixed media paintings. The artist also mentioned interesting aspects of how the economy fundamentally changes the way he works.
4. Artist Toolbox. Touring Dean Russo's artist studio was an interesting experience, as I haven't really met any pop artists in person before. Here we find many interesting tools not commonly found in an artist toolbox: stencils, spray paints, etc. It's quite a wonder to see, but there are also the familiar tools like color pencils and pastels.
5. Process. Most people like to see the end result, but I prefer seeing the process. I believe that process is an important part, without it you cannot have the result. During our interview, Dean told me about his entire process in creating his mixed media paintings, as long as I don't record it nor write it down. As such, I cannot really write about it either but all I can say is that I find it very interesting — that an artist workflow is not far from that from designers (my primary profession).
6. Dean Russo's mixed media paintings include many iconic public figures, but interestingly also many cats and dogs — many of which are commissioned work. You can purchase his paintings at his Etsy site. Most items are priced around $69 depending on their sizes, which is quite a bargain for original artwork — it's not uncommon to find fine art prints asking for more than that these days so 1/1 editions at that price is a great deal!
Olek was born Agata Oleksiak in Poland and graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland with a degree in cultural studies. In New York, she rediscovered her ability to crochet and since then she has started her crocheted journey/madness.
Here's my video interview with her the day we first met:
"I think crochet, the way I create it, is a metaphor for the complexity and interconnectedness of our body and its systems and psychology. The connections are stronger as one fabric as opposed to separate strands, but, if you cut one, the whole thing will fall apart.
Relationships are complex and greatly vary situation to situation. They are developmental journeys of growth, and transformation. Time passes, great distances are surpassed and the fabric which individuals are composed of compiles and unravels simultaneously."
Olek's work has been presented in galleries from Brooklyn to Istanbul to Venice and Brazil, featured in "The New York Times", "Fiberarts Magazine", "The Village Voice", and "Washington Post" and drags a tail of dance performance sets and costumes too numerous to mention.
Olek received the Ruth Mellon Award for Sculpture, was selected for 2005 residency program at Sculpture Space, 2009 residency in Instituto Sacatar in Brazil, and is a winner of apex art gallery commercial competition. Olek was an artist in an independent collective exhibition, "Waterways," during the 49th Venice Biennale. She was also a featured artist in "Two Continents Beyond," at the 9th International Istanbul Biennale.
Olek herself however can be found in her Greenpoint studio with a bottle of spiced Polish vodka and a hand rolled cigarette aggressively re-weaving the world as she sees.
See-ming Lee: The End of the Trail by Fernando Souto at Smack Mellon / 13th Annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival NYC 2009: Part 7 of 10 / Art + Artists
Also showing at Smack Mellon right now is the series titled The End of the Trail by Fernando Souto. I thought taht it would be odd to photograph someone else's photographs so I decided to do a video of the opening reception instead — you can call this the art + art lovers remix!
“My parents emigrated from Uruguay to Australia when I was eighteen months old. With my extended family still in Uruguay, I never had the opportunity to really know my relatives, particularly my grandmother, who always seemed to be really old to me. The brief, scrambled, international phone calls throughout my childhood did little for me to understand who I was and where I had come from.
In 2002, my grandmother turned one hundred years old and I got a brief opportunity to spend some time with her. Looking at family photographs and listening to the stories of her childhood inspired me to start this photographic project titled, The End of the Trail. During my stay in Uruguay, I set out to photograph the essence of her stories and to gain a greater understanding of my heritage. My thoughts of ranch life were mostly filled with romantic ideals of freedom and independence. I had no concept of the harsh environment that the ranchers lived and worked in, and how the intense solitude defines them. At that moment, I decided to immerse myself in their day-to-day lives, pulling from these experiences to create a unique perspective of their fading culture.
From my initial trip to Uruguay in 2002, my interest in this project evolved, and I decided to expand into other countries where ranching had a significant presence in the culture and traditional working techniques still existed. Through extensive research I decided upon seven countries that had adapted the original working techniques of the Spanish Conquistadors and established a ranching heritage that spanned centuries. Those countries include Spain, Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Australia.
To date, I have covered cattle ranches in central Australia, Uruguay, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. My plan is to complete this photographic series, which would include south Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Mexico and two additional regions in the United States. I had never intended for this documentary to be a weightless visual record, but an enduring photographic series that is told on the faces of the people that live and work in this unique global culture.”
Fernando Souto currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay in1972, Souto immigrated with his family to Sydney, Australia in 1974. Before studying photography at The Fashion Institute of Technology in 1994, he apprenticed with a Sydney-based photographer specializing in black & white printing. Originally planning on becoming a commercial photographer, he pursued assisting work with location-based portrait photographers throughout the late nineties. In 2002 Souto began his long-term project titled The End of the Trail, a humanistic story of the contemporary cowboy that spans seven countries. This series is shot on film and printed using traditional black and white gelatin papers. In 2008 Souto was chosen to attend the Review Santa Fe and exhibited his work at the Michael Mazzeo Gallery (NYC). Recently Souto was granted an emerging artists award from Photo District News for his work on The End of the Trail.
See-ming Lee: FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 2 by Ellen Driscoll at Smack Mellon / 13th Annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival NYC 2009: Part 6 of 10 / Art + Artists
Next we went to Smack Mellon for the artists' reception for two solo exhibitions. The first is Ellen Driscoll's installation FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 2.
1. Installation
Composed of thousands of discarded plastic bottles collected by Ellen Driscoll, FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 2 takes a critical look at the environmental and human damage inflicted by the oil and water industries in the last two centuries on regions as diverse as Nigeria and the United States.
Artist Statement. “This installation is a continuation of a multi-year series which explores the dynamics of resource harvesting and consumption. This part of the series focuses on oil and water. Rising at 5:30 AM, I harvest #2 plastic bottles from the recycling bags put out for collection on the streets of Brooklyn. For one hour, one day at a time, I immerse myself in the tidal wave of plastic that engulfs us by collecting as many bottles as I can carry. The sculptural installation for Smack Mellon comprises 2600 bottles transformed into a 28 foot landscape. Constructed solely of harvested #2 plastic, the sculpture collapses three centuries into a ghostly translucent visual fugue in which a nineteenth century trestle bridge plays host to an eighteenth century water-powered mill which spills a twenty-first century flood from its structure. The flow contains North American, Middle Eastern, and African landmasses (sites of oil harvesting and their consumer destination) buoyed by a sea of plastic water molecules. The piece looks back to eighteenth century American industry powered by water, and forward to the oil refineries of the Niger Delta, site of prolonged guerilla warfare against oil corporations and the source of over fifty percent of crude oil for the United States—the oil that produces the plastic within which our privatized water is currently bought and sold.”
This installation is so gigantic that it was hard to photograph and examine the detail at the same time, so I created a video fly-through so you can experience the piece to approximate my own experience with the piece:
Artist Statement. “The wall drawings in the exhibition are based on a close study of the inner workings of an oil refinery. By using huge shifts of scale between the macro and the micro, they depict a dystopic future based on rampant oil consumption. An oil rig shares the horizon with ocean fires and garbage scows, mega shopping malls are abandoned to spontaneous communities of slums, and a refugee camp is inundated by the waters of a melting glacier. The worlds in the drawings are drained of color, but filled with the flux and spillage of a potentially chaotic future.”
Ellen Driscoll is a sculptor whose work includes FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 1 at Frederieke Taylor Gallery, Revenant and Phantom Limb for Nippon Ginko, Hiroshima, Japan, The Loophole of Retreat at the Whitney Museum, Phillip Morris, As Above, So Below for Grand Central Terminal (a suite of 20 mosaic and glass images for the tunnels at 45th, 47th, and 48th Streets), Catching the Drift, a restroom for the Smith College Museum of Art, and Wingspun for the International Arrivals Terminal at Raleigh-Durham airport. Ms. Driscoll has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bunting Institute at Harvard University, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, the LEF Foundation, and Anonymous Was a Woman. Her work is included in major public and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of Art. She is a Professor of Sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design.
The softball glove I’ve had since high school is on its last legs. I went to Paragon a few weeks ago to check out new gloves and the thought of breaking one in from scratch was really discouraging. Finding this little gem is the solution to my problem.
Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki for lunch. I love this place.
We tried to clean things up a bit and make the site a bit more streamlined. We also added some links along the left to other places online we find ourselves. We’re testing out a few new tools going that should make it easier to keep things more current.
There are likely some kinks still to work out (i.e. can everyone see this in their RSS readers?) so please bear with us but we’ll be rolling in no time!
Only in America, or maybe just New York, can stupid yuppies, wait 20 minutes in line, in the cold to get into an already overcrowded club, only to spend the next few hours texting away.
I don't believe there are any rules on what you do with your time once your inside; you've paid your admission and shown your ID, anything with in legal bounds is up to you. However, does it not defeat the purpose of going to a social setting by texting all night?
I'm in a room centered by people dancing way off rhythm and the walls being held up by idiots on their iPhone or BlackBerry being given away by the reflective (hey look at me I'm on the phone in a night club) blue light on their smug face. I feel like smacking the phone out their hand or dumping it in their Mojito.
Speaking of rhythm. I'm dying to know what flipping sound do you (insert epithet here) people hear in your head that makes you move like an epileptic break dancer on a sugar rush in an oil slick? What ever sound that is - it's damn sure not the sound coming out of the speakers, but I digress.
It's a plausible reason that you may be letting your friends know where you are. Example "hey I'm down stairs texting like @$$#0le, meet me by the bar." Or perhaps they are waiting on the line and can't get in.
Now, call me old fashion, but we have become a nation of spoiled, technology co-dependent pretentious brats. Back in the day -we had to walk through 10 miles of snow... - no seriously - we used a home phone or maybe email and made plans. "Hey meet me at x street at 11:00, get there early, and there is a $xx cover charge." Magically, BAM, your friends either showed or they didn't, and if they got stuck on line because they came late either one or two things happened.
you saw them the next day and rubbed in how much of a good time they had and bitched about how crowded it was even though you've been there 10x's before and know the drill.
you asked BIG John the bouncer if you could come outside to look for your friend waiting on the line, in the cold, only wearing a t-shirt. The door man was probably a prick and said your friend isn't getting in and you made the 'call me later' signal with your hand and took your sweaty butt back inside before catching a pneumonia.
Stay tuned for more action packed episodes of stupid people in the city...
"Striking a cautious tone amid worsening economy, Mayor Micheal Bloomberg said Thursday that the State of the City is "shaken" but declared it can be repaired, outlining his roadmap to economic recovery as he prepares to run for a third term. Here are some highlights of Bloomberg's eighth Sate of the City address:
The mayor proposed a new state law that would make it a felony to commit six or more quality-of-life offenses within two year. 'We won't cede an inch to the squeegee men, turn-stile jumpers and graffiti vandals.' he warned.
One way he wants to help residents and tourists stretch their own budgets is by changing regulations to allow multiple-fare taxi rides from airports, train stations and other locations."
Ok the second and following points in the article could be legitimate ways to help residents cope with the tough economy, but what the flip does locking people up for 'quality-of-life' offenses have to do with helping with the economy besides giving more money to the prison industrial complex?
Fare Fair Hike
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2008/12/fare-fair-hike.html
I would specifically like to point out the blatant irresponsibility and hypocrisy of gov and MTA officials in NY. Yet again budgets are being closed on the backs of the tax payer. First the MTA was proposing a 23% fair hike which has now risen to 28%. The reasoning being "a severe price increase is likely to result in a dropoff in ridership". -(AMNY 12/10/2008)
There have been reasonable alternatives such as: raising the cost of vehicle registration (heavier vehicles would pay more). I would propose a 'wealthy tax' if you will. In a city where people are paying 3-5k for a swanky 1bd apartment, there is no reason for the fair hike to fall on the entire working class.
-Other sources of funding could have been the $4 MILLION spent to rename the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F Kennedy Bridge. Yes, because in a time of economic crisis our priority should be renaming bridges.
-The construction of "CITI field" for the NY Mets baseball team, paid for by tax payers, not CITI corp. We don't need affordable housing, job creation, we need baseball fields.
These officials have the audacity to tell you with a straight face, everyone needs to do their part.
What can I say, next to one of the coolest men around, humbled.
After a long performance, Mr. Hayes still found time to greet his fans and sign autographs. Thank you.
Night of the woman beaters
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2008/01/night-of-woman-beaters.html
So I was already warned by my co-worker that the crowd was going to be a little rowdy. Normally I associate hip hop crowds with rowdiness, not out of ignorance, but out of actual work experience. Ironically, the night after was an Old School hip hip night and it was all love, with out incident. However I'm talking about this particular night, Saturday.
Incident number 1:
Some clown decides he's going to rough up his girl friend. Right in front of me he mushes her in the head. I tell him, you have to chill dude. He replies "that' my girl friend" What the F#@!%R!k did he expect me to say to that? "Oh ok, why didn't you say so, carry on then" So my coworker comes in and escorts the guy to coat check. Great I think he's leaving; I look to the side a minute later and a fight breaks out with him at coat check.
Now me and to other guys are trying to restrain him, one by the waist, one by the arm and me on the other arm. He's yelling and struggling. He says let me go I will walk up the stairs and leave. I give him a second and as soon as we loosen up he starts wiling out again. That's it, now I have him in a wrist lock which isn't getting to much of a result; I let go and put him in a rear naked, choke hold. I don't apply full pressure yet and tell him to either walk up or go to sleep. He keeps fighting and cursing, very well then. I squeeze, 4 seconds went by and he's taking a nap. We drag him upstairs, rest him down on the cold pavement, where he awoke a minute later to 5 uniformed officers ready to take his woman beating ass to jail. If he did that in public, I don't even want to imagine what goes on in private.
Incident number 2:
Another shmoe cold slaps the hell out of his girl by the coat check. This time another bouncer deals with this one, all be it a little extreme for my taste, but he got the job done. He didn't say a word to the dude, didn't restrain him, just maced the guy right in the eyes. They drag him upstairs kicking and screaming "I can't see, I can't see" in tow is his girl yelling "leave him alone" I'm thinking B#@$%T are you crazy? "
Incident number 3:
I wasn't involved in this one at all, but I heard it was a good one. One of my co-workers, who is a Marine, was taking the guy out. He was putting up fight and tried to hit one of the bouncers, eh eh buddy. Our guy puts him in some thumb lock and a minute later he heard a snap and crack. Finally when they get the guy upstairs, ( he must have been fairly liquored up ) he asked "hey, what did you do to me? Why does my thumb feel like that? " Ohhh, he is so going to feel that the next morning.
Incident number 4:
I didn't see this one from the inception, but I 'helped' in the extraction process; a coworker said he grabbed his woman and started shaking her, again WTF. At this point we are all out of tolerance and diplomacy. 2 guys are trying to drag him up the stairs and the dude in clinging to everything he can get his hands on like a damn cat. 1/2 way up the stairs he calms down because he notices all the blue jerseys waiting for him at the front door. Hmmm.. not so tough anymore are we Mr. shake my girl up by coat check guy. And what the hell is it with coat check? Did they all get together and discuss the best local to start hitting women?
Bouncer VS Customers 4 - 0 final score!
Lesson to all 'men' and I use that term lightly. You shouldn't hit woman, period! But if you do, damn sure don't do it in front of bouncers. 1. your not going to leave unscathed; we take that S#%T personally and are going to give you a few souvenirs before you exit 2. pray we don't catch you by the back door where there are no cameras; you'll be eating soft foods for a while
I think we all have this sort of vision from time to time. It' difficult to step outside yourself and observe what is happening, truly listen, be in the moment. I needed the help of a friend to be objective and help me see through the cloud of my own thoughts and expectations. Thanks friend :)
Nothing is worse than having talent and not using it, like the old saying "one who does not read is no better off than one who can't". I was looking at a friends business card, and the name of his company easily lends itself to some nice logo concepts. By designing him a new card both of us would benefit; I wasn't thinking in terms of monetary gain; though I seldom do pro-bono work, but I had such a cool idea I needed to get it down on paper. The benefits are two-fold, he gets a new card; I get free promotion.
I've just started to break out of the creative block I was in for a while, and when it rains it pours. Now everything seems like a new idea.
I'll follow up in a future posts with the finished piece. It's great to get that creative vibe back.
Night fall in West Covina
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/11/night-fall-in-west-covina.html
How far would you go for something you believe in? That feeling will make you do some crazy things, or at least things that other people perceive as crazy and to you think makes perfect sense. Who is right? All I know is life is too short to have never tried.
Smack yah Rich up!
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/10/smack-yah-rich-up.html
This is partially related to the previous post, in that it deals with profit as the main motive of most if not all business. Of course there are exceptions to everything I'd like to pay my respects to the late Anita Roddick, activist and founder of "The Body Shop."
There is a saying (I'm paraphrasing here) show me where a man spends his money and I'll show you his true passions and desires. Now apply that saying to our Gov, Mayors, Senators, XL Corps.
Just chew on this for a second. We (I mean we as an entire society) accept that fact that an athlete gets a multi million dollar contract to put a ball through a hoop; yet we just can't scrounge up enough money to pay the people who really make a difference in this society.
As much disdain as I have for police, their starting salary is less than adequate; it's no surprise several hundred dropped out of the academy this year. With a starting salary around 25K and the fact you have to pay for your own gun; any young recruit is going to lack serious motivation for a long career in law enforcement.
The young attorney who would like to go into public defending quickly drops their ideals for large firm. Probably one of the most important jobs,teachers. (My parents taught public school.) They are only educating the future of this country, no go ahead pay them meager wages, supply them with outdated books, over crowded classrooms.
In a city where people are paying thousands of dollars to live in some bullshit 12x12 studio apartment in the city, we can't afford to pay these people? "Leave no child behind" must only apply if you live in the burbs.
I'm not blaming the rich for being rich - you worked to get where your at, more power to you; and there are some who are giving back to the community, great. My beef is with the distribution of funds or lack there of. Where the hell are our taxes going? Every year they chuck you a couple of thousand in refund money and we prance around like we just won the lottery. How quickly you forget the 10 grand or more that they took.
I'll just sign off with, watch how and where you spend your money; remember to pay yourself first, and never look down upon someone who has less than you.
Now these so-called wars are only failing if you think that their intention was to eradicate drugs or terror in the first place, and I'm still not sure how you fight a tactic.
ter·ror [ter-er]
–noun
intense, sharp, overmastering fear: to be frantic with terror.
an instance or cause of intense fear or anxiety; quality of causing terror: to be a terror to evildoers.
any period of frightful violence or bloodshed likened to the Reign of Terror in France.
violence or threats of violence used for intimidation or coercion; terrorism.
Informal. a person or thing that is especially annoying or unpleasant.
If we (we as civilians + our gov / administration) are using a basic dictionary, then we have overlooked 'terrorist' activities right here on our front lawn. The tactics of the NYPD, every other police department in the country, the KKK easily falls into the definition of terror; yet, they go unabated.
Today, we have more drugs, crime and weapons on our streets than when that first war began. We have created more terrorist and further jeopardized the safety of our citizens world wide.
Let me put it to you in a more business like format. If a major fortune 500 company was run the way this country was run; their board of directors would be fired ..........twice!
We have a war for everything except the most important issues. Where is:
The War on Poverty?
The War on Homelessness?
The War on Famine?
The War on Child Abuse?
The War on Illiteracy?
Do you know why that is? Because war is profitable, as marked by the 9 billion missing in funds sent to Iraq. I can't remember who said this, but it hit the nail on the head. "War is the most violent form of business"
-Unknown
I propose a new war: THE WAR ON WAR
We must send our military and it's commanding officer to occupy themselves. Let them occupy the deep recesses of their soul and find their true nature - an altruistic outlook towards their fellow man, not one of greed and destruction. Force them into a room with filled with books on great philosophers, some sandwiches a and smile and let them think about what they have done.
It's not about the money (yeah, ok)
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/10/its-not-about-money-yeah-ok.html
The following is a series of post from Craigs List. The initial response to the post is PRICELESS. This clearly illustrates the difference between a relationship and a sponsorship. If I may be so bold as to quote a famoust comedian:
"ok, fine lady, your not a whore, but you are wearing a whore's uniform - you see how mistakes can happen."
-Dave Chappelle
What am I doing wrong?
Okay, I'm tired of beating around the bush. I'm a beautiful
(spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and classy.
I'm not from New York. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at
least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind
that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think
I'm overreaching at all.
Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could
you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around
200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won't get
me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married
to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as
I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I
get to her level?
Here are my questions specifically:
- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars,
restaurants, gyms
-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won't hurt my
feelings
-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I'm 25)?
- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east
side so plain? I've seen really 'plain jane' boring types who have
nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I've seen drop dead
gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What's the story
there?
- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment
banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they
hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?
- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for
MARRIAGE ONLY
Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in an honest
way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm being up front
about it. I wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn't
able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a
nice home and hearth.
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or
other commercial interests
PostingID: 432279810
THE ANSWER
Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully
about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I'm not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your
bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I
see it.
Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a
cr@ppy business deal. Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you
suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring
my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my
money will likely continue into perpetuity...in fact, it is very likely
that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't
be getting any more beautiful!
So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning
asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation
accelerates! Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty
hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in
earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!
So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy
and hold...hence the rub...marriage. It doesn't make good business sense
to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease. In case
you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were
to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It's
as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.
Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So,
I wonder why a girl as "articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful"
as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to
believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K
hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout.
By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then
we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.
With all that said, I must say you're going about it the right way.
Classic "pump and dump."
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of
lease, let me know.
-----
My answer:
Dear Pers-431649184:
Your also came across your posting with great interest. I am a 28 year old Wall Street trader who qualifies as an eligible suitor under your $500k/yr rule. In fact, I make over a million and can usher a woman into a comfortable, true middle class lifestyle (not like those 500k lower-middle class chumps who have to make do with the junior two-bedroom).
I am sympathetic to your goal in finding a rich man to marry. The milk needs to be sold by the expiration date. But since this is premium milk, why would you settle for less than premium prices? I would like to address some of the questions that were previously missed by the other gentleman and provide constructive advice on where to find your match.
I also do believe in the efficient market theory, and am surprised that $500k hasn't found you yet. There are plenty of rich lawyers, investment bankers and hedgies to go around in this city. What gives? I think the problem might be that you have not been sufficiently focused in your search efforts.
The culprit, I believe, may be that you are also looking for qualities aside from money - such as looks, personality, and a sense of humor. However, men who have those qualities learn at an early age that they do not need money to attract quality women. As the saying goes, if you can get the milk for free, why pay up for the cow?
What you need to look for is someone who is long money, and short the other aspects. They are not easy to spot, since you are biologically wired to overlook and ignore them. However, the next time that you are at a expensive black tie event, and you are introduced to the short, bald, overweight man who fidgets nervously whilst making conversation with you, pay special attention to him.
Here's an inspirational story for you. An acquaintance of mine who was also an classy and articulate woman as yourself was able to land that guy - who also happens to be one of the top ten guys at Google. This is the type of stuff that gold-digging moms read to their gold-digging daughters at bedtime. Perhaps you need to make a location change to Silicon Valley - miracles like these happen almost everyday in a land where you can randomly throw a rock and hit a rich nerd in squarely his Kim-jong Il glasses.
And as far as his deficiencies go, they turned out to be not so bad. With hundreds of millions in the bank, she's been able to clean him up and give him a little sophistication. Think of it as a fixer-upper project with a massive budget (and yourself as a real estate developer!). Although, I must warn you, it is a fine line you are flirting with - you must not overdo it lest he begins to attract younger women who are hotter than yourself. The trick is, you need build him up enough to be presentable, while simultaneously manipulate him into believing you are the best that he will ever do! That and having kids will be your insurance against your depreciation (or as I prefer to use the term, going sour).
I wish the best of luck on your sales project. As for me, I am also available for a short-term lease. However, for marriage I wouldn't consider a women unless she can bring beauty, brains and self-motivation to the table. I do not want to dilute my gene pool and end up raising a bunch of Paris Hiltons.
---------
My response:
Dear Pers-431649184, fellow mid-20's female,
Let me begin by saying that my dating situation is much like yours - rife with frustration over guys that aren't worth a long term commitment or who don't want a long term commitment. In fact many of my friends who read your posting were convinced that I had written it. I feel your pain. I will add some more color to elucidate exactly the type of female that I am: I went to an Ivy League school, work at a top tier investment bank, and I am generally considered a very good looking girl. In other words, I won't dilute the gene pool or "raise a bunch of Paris Hiltons". I have brains and oodles of self-motivation. I go on about 3 dates a week with guys like the ones who posted above, and even guys that make more money, and I am friends with a bevy of these beasts through Ivy League and investment banking connections. However, none of these fine young gentlemen have proposed yet. I believe it is because they spend so much of their time making money, that they have very little time to be in an actual relationship and so they settle for dating cheap, trashy girls that they pick up over bottle service at bottom-of-the-barrel night clubs like PM and Marquee. It is only these cheap girls that can truely be bought with money.
The first specimen to respond to your post is actually a first year analyst at Deutsche Bank. I've heard this from reliable sources. So, he only makes about $150,000/year and that's before taxes, rent (for some crappy 1 bedroom convert on the west side), and all the buckets of beer he buys at dive bars like Bulls Head Tavern on 3rd Avenue, where he gets wasted with his disgusting frat brothers. But I dont think I need to tell you any of this since you have already eliminated this filthy class of guys. Bachelor #1, by kicking you when you were already down, also highlighted an important point: most men are assholes, making it virtually impossible to find one that is even worth marrying, much less one that will marry.
Bachelor #2 sounded promising and his post was much more respectful of your plight. The moral: men need to mature past the frat-boy stage before they are acceptable to date.
However, what I think most men fail to understand is that your preference for "$500 K" is not about the money and it is not a matter of materialism. Rather, this blanket statement provides an umbrella under which many other qualities seem to fall: premium educational background, high level of motivation, a family who raised the man well (and therefore good genes and similar breeding), and a socio economic background that reflects your own. I know how difficult it can be to date a guy who wrinkles his nose when he sees your oriental carpets, crystal chandeliers, and diamond heirloom ring. Having a similar background is vital to the success of any relationship. Let me reiterate: I make my own money and come from money and have no intention of marrying for money. Wanting a well-bred guy who has high motivation and a great education is not a crime.
With all of that said, I hope I have made it clear to everyone keeping up with these postings that females all over Manhattan are experiencing the same thing day in and day out and some of them aren't money grubbing sorostitutes. Well-bred gorgeous women who make their own money are finding it impossible to locate men who are of the same caliber. Its about time someone brought attention to the matter. Why is New York filled with guys who are A) career-obsessed, B) frat-loving, C) immigrants, or D) greasy B&T.
Where are the high-brow, ballroom-dancing, tuxedo-wearing Ivy League men who don't fall into any of these 4 categories and who aren't disrespectful slime balls? I have yet to solve this Manhattan mystery.
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Don't be a sea-gull manager.
sea·gull man-ager (sē'gŭl'man'a'ger) n. A manager who flies in, unannounced, makes a lot of noise, craps all over everything, then leaves.
Who asked you?
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/09/who-asked-you.html
The following quote was copied from www.playahata.com "With President Bush's top military and diplomatic advisers on Iraq due to deliver a major progress report on the president's 'surge' strategy, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that an increasing number of Americans believe the troop buildup in Iraq is having a positive impact."
It's funny, how the talking heads always point to some mysterious 'poll' to support the right's agenda. Ask yourself, when was the last time, if ever, someone in the media asked your opinion on current affairs?
Who am I?
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/08/who-am-i.html
I am the sound of creaking pine, as your ancestors turn in their graves every time you callously use the 'N' word. Saying 'it's a term of endearment' does not vindicate you; your justification is absurd.
I am the $5 dollar flag you bought on the way to the parade, in order to display your false pride but then easily discarded on the pavement after you had your fill of fake numbers and hand full of raw hide. Your whole persona is in plain view; yelling 'Boriqua!' a Puerto Riqueño does not make you.
In the words of De La Soul "Gun control means using both hands in my land" - holding steel does not make you stronger; after today I am your brother no longer.
Corea Azul
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/07/corea-azul.html
On Friday July 27th 2007, me and Sanchez received our blue belts, Hector his brown belt and Pete his long awaited black belt.
From left to right: Damian McCleod, Pete Lawson, Renzo Gracie, Sanchez, Hector
"It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.
They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then
spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.
The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees'navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives."
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/05/stop-snitching-stop-bitching.html
After the interview on 60 minutes discussing the un-written rule: no one under any circumstances should snitch or collaborate with the police, I was inspired to write my opinion on this topic. The title of this post pretty much sums up how I feel, but further explanation is in order, and I am trying to be objective.
I think many a misguided youth as well as mentally underdeveloped 'adult' have completely blurred the line between telling on someone for the sake of telling and standing up for what's right.
Being silent is just as bad as committing or condoning the offensive act yourself. We know the police are no friend to minorities, but should that stop you from keeping a killer from striking again or getting the drug dealers off your corner? 'Stop Snitching' has damn near become a brand name and people wear it proudly. What happens when it's your daughter, brother, wife who is the victim, will you be complacent and obey this urban commandment?
This is what makes the 60 minutes video, the death of Israel Ramirez so infuriating. They are in essence placing currency over courage. Then again, this is nothing new and not surprising. Profit over people is as old as civilization. I'll go one step further and say this kind of behavior makes them a coward. What else would you call someone who does nothing in the face of injustice? Yet we will proudly support these so-called men buy buying their albums and prancing around to their music.
Not to be one sided, there is a legitimate reason not to speak to the authorities; the same reason you don't want to buy a wig, change your name and go into the witness protection program. That's somewhat drastic, but the repercussions are real and possibly fatal. This presents quite a dilemma for the well meaning citizen, who with out threat would do the right thing.
After 911 the slogan was 'United we Stand'; after slowly fading in the past few years it's gone back to it's default: 'mind your business; it's not your problem.'
Customer support
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/04/customer-support.html
This goes out to Capital One, for your craptaculous customer support. There are no options on your phone menu to speak to a representative. Only after navigating back and forth for five minutes was I redirected to an actual person. I asked them why was it so difficult so speak to a customer rep; they gave me that old transparent "I'm very sorry for the inconvenience" wrapped in a <I don't give a flip> coding.
Hold on it gets better. I find the email contact link on their site and sent them a polite notice about their less than satisfactory phone menu options and lack of support.
I kid you not, they asked me to call them to discuss the matter (on the same number no less). Here is their exact response from the email:
"Thank you for contacting Capital One.
The nature of your inquiry indicates that you will need to call us. We regret any inconvenience this may cause; however, we are unable to supply the level of service required to resolve your concern via e-mail response. Please call our office at 1-800-955-7070 or, 1-804-934-2001 if you are overseas. Our Customer Relations representatives are available to assist you 24 hours every day.
We value your business and look forward to our continued financial relationship."
Sincerely,
E. Slater
eCorrespondence
Capital One Services(R)
Thank you Capital One; next month we'll have a tutorial on walking and chewing gum at the same time!
I'ts amazing how the the upper class, (nothing wrong with being in the upper class, but more often they are oblivious or apathetic to the plight of the lower, middle class, minorities, well, hell anyone making less than six figures) Like Dennis Miller "I don't mean to get off on a rant here..." I digress.
A caller stated something to the effect that many of the poor in the nation are not in their current economic state due to institutionalized racism, but because they are: lazy, have very little education, as did their parents; they stay on welfare and a host of other reasons. I don't condone using a cop out like "Tha man is keeping me down" for not making progress in your life, but let's not dismiss that fact the conditions in minority communities are not by accident. The less funding the city gives to certain neighborhoods means the schools don't receive adequate supplies like up to date text books, community centers can't pay their staff enough, and the problems trickle down.
I'm sure many metropolitan areas have a hard divide between rich and poor, but it's extremely aprarent in Manhattan's upper east side where there is a clear line after 96 st. South: it's Wine & Spirits and the 'Gourmet Deli (gourmet only meaning they charge you 400% more for the same crap you buy in the hood) ; above that it's Bodegas and Kansas Fried Chicken (Kansas not even Kentucky WTF), and that's not an exaggeration. Again, this is not by accident.
Then you have you anomalies. The gun violence in urban areas is prolific ( not a gun manufacturing plant with in miles) . You can blame lack of education, jobs, affordable house etc. So how do you explain incidents like Columbine High School.
The caller's remarks just make me think of these issues.
I can still see you.
http://dynamic75.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-can-still-see-you.html
This will be some gripes I have about airline travel, after returning on from LA to NY on Delta. Should I start with the 100 year old flight attendant who caught an attitude with me while I was trying to find my seat? No, I'll get back to that b!!#%#* later.
First, let's talk about the 2 hour delay. Maybe not a big deal to most, but if you have to work the next day and your arrive at 1:30 in the morning, that matters. Don't you think you think you should receive some sort of compensation for your time wasted? It wasn't due to bad weather so somewhere the airline is to blame (at least I'm pretty sure of it). An extra, granola bar or another 2 oz. glass of apple juice would have been nice.
At least I had a portable DVD player (by Poloroid, who get's an F+ for quality) This thing didn't even play most of the DVD's I had, they are all the same region, I don't know if it's the way the disk were made, a scratch or what. Plus, the volume sucks to all hell. On the pro side, the battery life is pretty decent, and it came with the car lighter power adapter. Well it was a christmas present, so I got my money's worth.
Now let's get back to the obviously disgruntled airline attendant. (Are there any employees who are grunttled? ) Another passenger was in my seat, so I just let them know it's not a big deal, If there are other empty seats, I'll sit there. I wasn't even speaking to her and she spouts "Sit down and you can play musical chairs after take off." WTF? Using caution not to get myself questioned and probed by TA Police, I held my tongue, but I let her know here sarcastic remarks were unnecessary and unprofessional. If this had taken place outside of the airplane I would have cursed her out. At what point in your life do you wake up and realize your a 100 (ok she wasn't 100, but was way too old to still be a flight attendant) year old flight attendant? Do you just go F#%#k it, only 3 more years until retirement and a gold watch - lets suck it up.
Now let's get to the meat and potatoes, metaphorically speaking unless your in first class and even then I'd be skeptical of the genetic make up of that 'food'. I don't know if this is a trademark of Delta or all airlines, exactly what is the purpose of that flimsy 90% transparent curtain dividing first - class from coach? Maybe its some new space age, stain resistant, super absorbant material, so that if a Momosa gets spilled during some turbulence; none of it will trickle into first class, which could spark a riot as the paupers in coach dive to the floor to slurp or the remainders of that fruity beverage treat.
It's like they want us to see how nice they are being treated but not really. LA to NY is a 6 hr flight, I think coach could get a little more than sun chips and a 2oz apple juice. I know first class is more expensive, but everyone gets hungry c'mon! I have noticed a significant decrease and quality and amount of food on long flights in the past few years.
As the attendants come around to collect the trash, I thought I'd assist by dumping my cup and bag into the bin. She takes out the cup from the bin, places it on top and tells me in her calm snooty voice "I have a system". We'll slap me over the head with the stupid stick; I didn't know your were a flight attendant / garbage removal technician.
I have seen blogger pages several times before, but not until I started reading one last week did I consider writing one myself. Tonight seemed like a particularly good night to start one. Aside from meditating and pounding the heavy bag, this will serve as a supplemental outlet for some pent up anger. It's better than acting out what I had envisioned earlier.
The evening almost ended on pleasant note, having dinner with some friends at a nice classy establishment playing live music. As anyone knows in NYC, "parking is a premium" as the office over the phone put it to me when I requested his advice on how to resolve a situation with a near by resident.
Upon arriving in my neighborhood, all of the spots near my house were taken. There is a house on the corner with some parking spots in front. They have a driveway that any normal considerate person would stay clear of, but they insist on taking up the remaining space between their driveway and the corner of the street, which is a public street by the way - in front of their house or not. They aren't paying a mortgage on the street. Now after moving the cones to park their, an older guy comes out of the house and moves them right back before I could even shift the car into reverse. Then comes over to me in a overtly condescending aggressive tone on how it's common courtesy not to park in front of peoples houses. I informed him that the street was not his house it's public parking. He then explained how myself and the other residents just don't want to walk the extra 20 feet. I though (your right Dick head, the closer the better, why don't I just park 10 blocks down and take the bus to my house) This went back and forth for another minute or so, ending with him saying "don't tough my cones!" Ohhhhhhhhkay, a little cone sensitive eh.
Once again, I bit my tongue, also having noticed two other guys on the front stoop looking on should any physical confrontation ensue, which I wasn't going to instigate. I mean I live across the street from this guy. Fine I parked my car on the other side of the street to avoid a confrontation.
I wanted to find out if there is anything the authorities could do about this situation; so I called the local precinct for advice. Apparently this nut job has been a problem before, slashing some other driver’s tires. The officer asked if I was this same person. No, that wasn’t me; I'm understanding and try to be diplomatic, but an action like that would, in my eyes, have been just cause for serious retaliation. I can be quite vindictive under certain circumstances. There is something unbalanced about this guy. Tell me the logic of slashing someone’s tires right in front of your house. They don't have to look to hard to find you, your vehicle or your second floor windows, common sense. I digress, the officer advised me not to engage in dialogue with the individual as this has proved to be non effective. He said I could either A: attempt to park there and when Looney man came out, call 911, a car would come over and inform him that he could not reserve parking on a public street. or B: park there, then do surveillance on my car at 3:00 am to see if he would slash my tires or break my windows; followed by a call to the police stating I witnessed him damage my vehicle and he would be arrested.
Both of these actions would not result in any long term favorable solutions. There would just be more tension; then I'd have really park my car 10 blocks away and take the bus home, just not to be retaliated against. As the office stated I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is probably a trivial problem, but an annoying one none the less. It's not the fact I can't park there with out a family feud to follow, it's the fact that he came out with such an arrogant ass-holish attitude about it. Some times you get sick of the being the nice guy who always bites his tongue and takes the higher road. Like I said, there is always the good ol heavy bag and meditation.
As I start writing in this space again, there are a lot of things to talk about, but one rather obvious category is travel. This photo is from my recent trip to Paris.
Well, after about a month and a half with the iPhone, and the first real software update, and countless articles read, comments made, and people either asking for or just grabbing my iPhone just to play with it, I think I can make a considered judgement on this interesting little piece of technology.
I love it.
It hasn’t changed my life. But it’s made using the phone a pleasure, it’s changed some of my phone habits just slightly, and it’s made me think about how I use the devices around me to communicate. Before I had just a phone, and one I hated at that. Now I have something I like to use, and that I use in sometimes silly and sometimes smart ways. For instance I use text messaging a lot more than I used to.
I use the text messaging feature every day or two, where before I would have used it only if absolutely necessary, and then I would have used this text messaging widget on my computer instead of the phone keyboard. That’s because on my old phone, you had to navigate through several different screens even to get to the text feature, then it would have to activate, then you would have to use the regular phone keypad to attempt to type. It was absolutely hopeless for a feature that was supposed to save time. Now I can just touch the SMS icon. Then I see texts in the form of a conversation, a feature that really makes sense, and respond using a good if not perfect qwerty keyboard. It’s a pleasure to use.
But I’m not a different person. I still mostly dislike talking on the phone, even if the process is a lot easier. So I don’t really make more phone calls than I would have before. But the phone calls I do make, or answer, are much less painful, so I’m less likely to put them off. Just yesterday I was getting Thai food, soething I don’t normally do, but I was able to use the Google Maps feature to look up Thai places nearby, look at their Web pages, and call pretty easily. This would have been a painful process before (and I probably would have tried to get my girlfriend to do it for me).
Still, I notice I’m not really making more phone calls, just that I hate them less.
I love the email and Web functionality, though mostly as a toy, since I am so close to a computer for the majority of my day. It’s just fun to use the phone instead, and really useful at those rare times I’m away from my computer and really need to find something out or get in touch with somebody.
Four months ago the calendar would have been useless, but since I am 9-to-5 again it’s essential. Sometimes I have back to back meetings and the calendar lets me know where I need to be next rather than having to head back to my computer. So again, I still hate a lot of meetings, but this eliminates some of the annoying little side aspects of going to them.
Finally, the iPod stuff is really cool. I can’t do much more than I could do with my old nano, but it’s so much more fun with the iPhone interface.
Long story short: it doesn’t let me do stuff I couldn’t do before, but it makes a lot of tasks easier and a lot more fun.
American Scientist has an interesting article about how spam has become the main practical focus of computational linguistics and computational learning theory. It turns out that there are about 6 X 10^23 possible theoretical spellings, but probably only about a million of them are actually comprehensible to a human (that is, “V1@6ra” is probably comprehensible while “\/1*aT9rU@” is not).
With apologies to Dave Coustan, who is exploring the world of shower controls on his own blog, I offer this apparently well-designed approach to the world of the shower. You see, the inner ring controls the temperature, while the outer ring controls the flow. So you can set the shower at the right temperature at the beginning of your stay, and never have to change it. I think this might be a revolutionary development in hotel room shower controls.
A new set of video testimonials for 37signals and Basecamp is out. I recently started using Basecamp for a project (the first time I’ve officially used the product, and I didn’t even have to convince the client–someone else did). It has been a dream to use, simple, intuitive, and everything else you look for in a project tool, and yet I am not sure it will end up being effective. The only reason it might not be useful is if (drum roll please) people don’t use it. One of the great advantages of Microsoft products over the past couple of decades is that there hasn’t been any alternative for many functions, so people are forced to use their products; without competition, they evolve and grow with no effective criticism from users. Now that there’s something much, much better than SharePoint available for project work, I hope Microsoft will feel the pressure.
So, after hemming and hawing over my next career move, I’ve decided to head back to the nine-to-five world. I recently accepted a position as Content Strategist with IconNicholson here in New York. I certainly value the time I’ve spent as a freelancer, and I’ve learned a lot of things about how that world works, and I appreciate how my network of friends and clients has helped me to achieve at least a moderate success. I’m also glad to be able to start working with a smart new group of people and tackle projects I might not have gotten a crack at as a freelancer. And the regular paycheck doesn’t hurt.
So, how does this affect the blog?
IconNicholson actually has a very liberal blog policy; they encourage employees to maintain blogs. However, I cannot of course talk about our clients, or about anything that touches on Icon’s intellectual property. This strikes me as a pretty fair deal. I also need to let my readers know that my opinions are not necessarily those of my employers, and that they do not endorse this blog. I’ll be adding a more permanent statement to this effect soon.
But I’ll continue writing about the things that interest me: writing, editing, community, Web applications, the Mac. And hopefully I’ll be doing it more often now that this job thing is settled.
Last week’s New Yorker had an interesting article on technology, how we tend to forget that technology is not just the latest digital doodads in our lives, but also the things that became part of our lives a long time ago, such as teapots and wheels. Basically any device that we use to make our lives easier is a piece of technology. However, we seem to privilege the thing that’s new, even if the most important pieces of technology we use in our daily lives are rather simple and old, and even if the older technologies are more important to what we want to do, or more efficient, or simply more effective. Moreover, the article asks us to consider how we don’t think about how alternative technologies might have been able to do the job of the technologies we currently use (as an example, the pneumatic tube, widely adopted in New York in the closing years of the nineteenth century).
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'Twas his intent.
To blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below.
Poor old England to overthrow.
By God's providence he was catch'd,
With a dark lantern and burning match
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip Hoorah !
Hip hip Hoorah !
A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope,
A farthing cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down,
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar,'
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head,
Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.
Attention Stamford Voters; Board of Education Endorsements
http://herzy69.blogspot.com/2009/11/attention-stamford-voters-board-of.html
Net/Net, this year's election is a bit of a farce, since the city charter says the majority party (democrats) can have no more than 6 of the 9 seats, so that guarantees that at least 2 of the republicans (Pia, Olson or Pierre-Louis) running will win, even if they receive the least amount of votes. I guess they could win all 3 seats, but I seriously doubt that, since enough democrats will come out to vote in the Mayor's race to ensure one Dem will finish in the top 3.
In my opinion, Jerry Pia is a given, since he has name recognition, has been on the BoE in the past and is currently on the Board of Representatives. He is very experienced in the inner workings of the city and and might be able to help navigate the budget process more effectively and will fight to protect the schools educational needs
That leaves the only Olsen and Pierre-Louis as the remaining Republicans candidates of choice. Fred Pierre-Louis is very knowledgeable of the process, as he is a teacher in Naugatuck. He seemed smart enough in the debate I was at to say when he did not have enough information to answer a question, rather than try to sugar coat, and I can respect that intellectually. He supports middle school reform as he "is a doctoral student at U of Hartford and his research focuses on mixed ability, or heterogeneous, classes. A pilot project, done as part of his research, found that 14 low-achieving students placed in college prep courses came to think of themselves as college prep students." - Stamford Advocate
I dont know much about Olson, other than she is running on the same ticket as Pia and she could not attend the forum I attended as she claims she is sick with H1N1. She has gotten into a bit of hot water recently with the Catholic schools, since she claimed to have gotten sick as a nurse there, and has said that students at her school have contracted H1N1, though the Principal has denied any students have tested positive. Certainly rips her credible to shreds in my mind. She is also a former school nurse and health instructor in Stamford Public Schools, though I dont think this is sufficient enough to garner my support. The fact that she was unable to attend the forum I attended, sends a signal to me that she is not dedicated or committed in spite of being sick. This may not be a fair assessment, but all is fair in love, war and politics.
That leaves 1 seat for the 2 remaining democrats running. Polly Rauh has the greatest name recognition and is probably the most qualified and right now, and (imho) we need experienced people on the Board of Education to muddle through the process. However, she is for school choice (basically breaking the city into 4 quadrants and assigning 4 schools to that area and saying you can go to any of those schools) and I am not sure how feasible or realistic that really is going to be implement here, since there are much more pressing issues in this city right now.
I liked Naomi Chapman-Taylor but it will take her months to get acclimated and become productive. She has not been to enough BoE meetings to really know or understand the issues. If she comes on a regular basis, she could wind up being a good candidate next year.
I am supporting Jerry Pia, Fred Pierre-Louis and Polly Rauh. Each comes with their own pluses and minuses, but I feel that they are best candidates for Stamford now. Pia and Rauh are both experienced with the Stamford political scene as they are currently on the Board of Reps. Pierre-Louis is a high school teacher and is on the ground in the classroom and can speak first hand to the needs of students. I think a combination of both education and political experience is the leadership qualities which we need now.
The Advocate ran a bit of a profile on the candidates, that is worth a read.
After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger woman. The downtown luxury apartment was in his name and he wanted to remain there with his new love so he asked the wife to move out and then he would buy her another place. The wife agreed to this, but asked that she be given 3 days on her own there, to pack up her things.
While he was gone, the first day she lovingly put her personal belongings into boxes and crates and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their candlelit Dining table, soft music playing in the background, and feasted on a pound of shrimp and a bottle of chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few of the resulting shrimp shells into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.
The husband came back, with his new girl, and all was bliss for the first few days. Then it started; slowly but surely. Clueless, the man could not explain why the place smelled so bad. They tried everything; cleaned & mopped and aired the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned, Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in, the carpets were replaced, and on it went.
Finally, they could take it no more and decided to move. The moving company arrived and did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their new home. Including the (curtain rods).
As we approach this upcoming election, other interest groups are out there rallying the troops. It is time we, as parents, begin to flex our political muscle.
In this year's BOF election, we have a slate of candidates on the Democratic ticket that is more pro-education than we have seen in a very long time. Tim Abbazia, and John Louizos have always been supporters of the education budget and they are now joined on the ticket with Dudley Williams, a former BOE member and, in his role as a GE employee, the coordinator of GEs highly substantial educational grant to our district. I am not saying this because I’m a democrat (which I am not) or because I am a friend of theirs (I do not know any of these gentlemen personally)—we really just need the best people for the job. It just happens to be the case that these three Democrats represent our best chance to get BOF support for a strong education budget in the coming years.
And, while party politics SHOULD NOT matter, If Joe Tarzia and Bob Kollenberg, who have been staunchly in opposition to increases in the school budget, get more support and have leverage over more fellow Republicans on the BOF, we will only see a continuation of their clear agenda in recent years to push for significant cuts in our school budgets.
We only have a few days before the election. If a parent-based grassroots effort is going to work, it needs to have everyone's help. If everyone on this list could start the communications chain and begin to mobilize their respective communities and reach out to friends in other communities to do the same, we could make a considerable impact on election day--- and make it clear to these candidates that they should be beholden to us once in office as the interest group that got them elected.
If we don’t not make some noise and gain some political capital now, when it is most important, we will have no one to blame but ourselves when, in the months to follow, we see the BOF making dramatic cuts to the school budgets once again. Let’s show Stamford that the parent community is a force to be reckoned with. Let’s make it clear to our politicians that they need to support our schools, and that not doing so can have political consequences.
I hope you will join with me to make our voices heard. Together, we can make a difference.
Feel free to cut and paste in order to forward onto your friends
Since my initial childhood shots, I have not been vaccinated for anything (except the occasional tetanus shot after a puncture wound) and I am still standing. I agree halfheartedly with others about the only reason we have vaccines is so that the pharmas can make more $$$, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.
As Nancy will attest, I rarely take anti-biotics and when I do I almost never finish them. I believe that all this "medicine" is impacting and effecting our ability to naturally ward of natures attempt to kill us, which is why the bugs and viruses are getting more and more nasty as time goes on.
I also believe that we as a species have lived for thousands of years before modern science required us to take preventative medicine, and assuming we don't find some other way to kill ourselves prior, we will live for a few thousand more.
The current strain of H1N1, has been bad, been declared a pandemic, but has not been particularly deadly as of yet, so at the end of the day if it does not kill you, it only makes you stronger. So even though Nancy is looking to get the kids the flu shot, I would recommend against it, though coincidentally, Nancy never asked me or anyone else their thoughts on this subject.
BBQ Beer Can Chicken w/ Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Broccoli
Generously add chicken rub (mine is Kosher Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, lemon pepper, and cumin)
Open Can of beer, drink (or pour off) 1/3 of the can. Pour some of the rub into the remaining beer. Place the chicken over the beer, so that as it evaporates it moistens and flavors the inside of the chicken. Place the chicken on a grill (or in the oven) and kick for 2-3 hours. The chicken will stand on its legs and the beer can.
Turn oven to 450. Cut tomatoes in half, drizzle in EVOO spread out over baking pan then sprinkle iwth balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and pepper.
Cut Broccoli into small bite size pieces and throw into a ziplock bag. Cut up 3 cloves of garlic and add to bag. Add EVOO to zip top baggie to coat broccoli and garlic with oil. Place on another baking sheet and add kosher salt and pepper.
Cook both trays for 20-25 minutes, then combine and serve.
The kid holding it, according to the reader who took this picture, was maybe 16. Obama is a communist and a fascist and a traitor! Then this:
The above protestor is comparing an attempt to privately ensure millions of people currently uninsured is the equivalent of this:
Action T4 (German: Aktion T4) was a program, also called Euthanasia Program, in Nazi Germany spanning October 1939 until August 1941, during which physicians killed 70,273 people specified in Hitler's secret memo of September 1, 1939 as suffering patients "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination", but described in a denunciation of the program by Cardinal Galen as long-term inmates of mental asylums "who may appear incurable".
This is as sick as those who called Bush a Nazi before the Iraq war. But unlike the Iraq war, the proposal for universal healthcare was a big issue in the last election, was widely debated, and the winners of that election are fulfilling a clear pledge. So what we have here is unhinged hysteria. I certainly think pent-up anger at Bush (which partisanship and religious devotion meant they could never vent) is a part of this; but the fact of a non-white, non-Southern effective president should not be discounted.
This issue with listening, debating, enacting or not is that it involves time and thought, not knee jerk reactions and being able to draw immediate infallible conclusions, leaving no position with a fraction of an inch of variation regardless of how the winds are blowing. The blowhards (that is the media, not the conservatives), dont want us to stop, listen, think, process, digest, absorb and then respond to our leaders actions. It is more memorable, photographic, with better imagery to attract the fleeting eye, when you light a fire of hate, intolerant ideologically and what not because that is what the masses want to see, that is how you make news and gain viewers and advertisers. We are now like the Romans, feeding the christians to the lions, since this is what the masses want. The inmates have escaped and are now running the asylum on both sides of the spectrum because they think extremism is what the people want, because the extremist are screaming the loudest and making the biggest impact.
The problem is the moderates are driving 10 year old hondas and subaru's, trying to make ends meet, trying to raise our children to be tolerant of all cultural, all religions, all ideologies, all belief's. There is no PAC or lobby group that is focused on the middle. People that dont want our government to grow, people that want health care reform in an intelligent capitalistic way, where government is not picking up the tab, where Doctors are compensated for treating the individual not for bilking the insurance companies because they are worried about being sued for malpractice if they dont run one test, where consumers have free choice to choose a health insurance plans that fits their individual needs, not the needs of their employer, where insurance companies are allowed to compete and make money by offering policies that people need and then incentivized to provide care to those that cannot afford insurance.
The bottom line is we, the people, are already paying for those that dont have insurance already one way or another. By creating tax breaks or other incentives for the insurance companies to cover everyone, essentially achieves the same goal without the govt footing the entire bill.
And for the record, I dont think a typical elementary school kid understands or cares about the presidents philosophy or ideology or agenda. They think it is cool to know who the president is and they feel honored if they get to hear him (or her) speak. In spite of my feelings for Bush 43, I never stopped Jacob (8) from listening to him or talking about him, since he was excited he knew who the president was and he was learning to respect the office, which is what we all should be doing. If we teach our children that we disrespecting our leader is appropriate than that is not acceptable and we are doomed like some many empires before.
Just like I was told in 2000, we lost, now get over it. The conservatives need to take their own medicine. You dont like the president, then work to find someone that is more electable in 2012.
http://herzy69.blogspot.com/2009/07/these-iranians-are-wusses.html
"These Iranians are wusses. Remember when Bush stole the election in 2000. Did we riot in the streets and complain. We did not!" "Hell, No. We said, 'Well, that's the way it goes," and went home and watched TV."
http://herzy69.blogspot.com/2009/07/baseball-hof-thoughts.html Honestly, I don't think that Jim Rice belongs in the Hall of Fame. I believe the writers actually got it right for 14 years, by keeping him out. He had a 15 year career (1974-1989), where he hit .298/382/1451, and one MVP season in 1978.
He currently sits in 56th place in RBI's behind players of the same era such as Rusty Staub (53), Dave Parker (51), Jeff Kent (48), Andre Dawson (34), and Harold Baines (29) who has 1628 RBI's, and none of these players will (or should) never gain entry into Cooperstown. He is in 56th place on the career HR list, one ahead of Albert Belle, and behind Baines (54), Joe Carter (48), Andres Galarraga (45) and Andre Dawson (36) with 438. Jim Rice was a very good player in the pre-steroid era, however he was not one of the best ever.
So in other news, temporary commissioner for life, Bud Selig has said he is once again seriously considering reinstating the All-time hits leader Pete Rose after 20 years, in order to make him eligible for the Hall of Fame. Now, I have two thoughts on this issue:
If he is reinstated, he should not be allowed on the field as a manager or general manager.
Shoeless Joe Jackson (and the other banned Black Sox) should also be reinstated, since they have been out of the game for 89 years and deserve the opportunity to be reinstated before Charlie Hustle.
I think and hope in the end that Rose is not reinstated, even though be absolutely positively belongs in Cooperstown, since it will open an enormous can of worms about what he can do and won't he will not be able to within the game. Even if Selig allows him a limited return, allowing him entry to the hall and to the celebrations of the past players, Rose will continue to lobby and pressure Selig and his successors to give him either greater access to the game, which he simply does not deserve. He broke the one cardinal rule of the game, and has to learn to live with the consequences. He has said and done everything he can to get out of the baseball purgatory for the past 20 years, and if a lifetime ban means anything, then let it be a lifetime. Joe Jackson's lifetime ended in 1951 (31 years after he was banned) and he has not yet been reinstated.
Finally, the question around who from the steroid era deserves to be in the hall will still take a few more years to figure out. Once we have a slightly longer historical view on the subject, then we will have a more objective way to view this period. Quite simply, I believe the Hall of Fame should represent the best players of any given era. My standard is fairly simple, as you look back on any era, you need to ask yourself was player x one of the best of that period. If we assume that sufficient number of players were on juiced (both pitchers and hitters) over the past 20 years, then which of those players stand out as the best and most elite of that era?
The no brainers remain Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey*, Mark McGwire, Derek Jeter* Greg Maddux*, Pedro Martinez, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Manny Ramirez and Mike Piazza. The players who in my opinion are not HOF material are Rafael Palmeiro, Fred McGriff*, Jose Canseco, Mike Mussina*.
I don't know what to do with Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling*, for very different reasons; Sosa because not only is he tainted, but also a cheater, and Schilling because he was largely a mediocre pitcher for much of his career.
http://herzy69.blogspot.com/2009/07/steroids-you-think.html
Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz passed an eye exam so eyesight is not to blame for his season-long slump. Gosh, so what could make a player’s home run total plummet the exact same time Major League Baseball is cracking down on performance enhancing drugs? Shoot, I feel like I should know this one. Nope, I don’t get it.
http://herzy69.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-is-first-of-many-but-really-made.html
This is the first of many, but really made me chuckle (thanks Ida): Just got the inside word from St. Pete. Apparently when Farrah Faucet got to heaven, she was granted one wish. Farrah asked only for the children of the world to be safe. So God killed Michael Jackson.
http://herzy69.blogspot.com/2009/06/to-quote-another-friend-and-put-our_26.html
To quote another friend and put our celebrity obesesed culture into perspective: "In other news...149,997 non-celebrities kicked the bucket yesterday. Laid end to end, the corpses would form a line 170 miles long, the distance from New York to Baltimore..." JS
Screenshot / visualization of my web activity on Google from 2005 to 2007:
My hypothesis is that my Google search activity is:
1. inversely proportional to the number of production-heavy projects
2. proportional to the number of research-oriented projects
In fact, I think that it's likely that my projects would follow a heavy-search (research) start and then progressively go down the slope because I'd have to produce a lot of stuff so no time / no reason to search.
I shall find out when I map my time-sheets to this visualization :)
It always fascinates me how search results should differ depending on whether I'm signed into Google or not. Take a look at the following screenshots of Google Search: See-ming Lee
When I'm logged in, since i am so active on social networks, my friends' activities matter, and as such the friends history on digg and my LinkedIn profile matters
When I'm logged out, people generally search for me when they are looking for information about me, and so the blogs matter more
I'm not quite sure which is which, but I am going to continue to look around. The Google SERP fluctuates so much that it is hard to keep track. Does anyone know if there is a service that do data-mining everyday so I can compare stats?
Test Card 8.5x11 for a black & white photocopy machine / 1998 / SML Graphic Design
Assignment
Art 366a Visual Studies
Fall Semester 1998
T-TH 1:30-3:20, 215 Park Street
Paul Elliman, Instructor
paul.elliman [at] yale.edu
1. Testcard
(Week 1-2) Devise a testcard, 8.5x11, for a black & white photocopy machine
The card is basically a set of questions or exercises - point, type specimen, line, pattern, half-tone, grey-scale spectrum, moire - designed to test the machine's effectiveness or value.
The testcard should explore not only the effective (proper?) function of the photocopier, but also any other qualities (Test the limits of its language/your language)
Investigate both the history and teh working mechanics of thsi machine, then (week 3-4) extend the scope of the testcard to include this kind of informaion.
Yale Art 366a / 1998
Visual Studies / Paul Elliman
Notice above copy machine to get people to handle books with care when photocopying.
+ It's fairly amazing what can happen when you combine the language of the real (photographic) and illustration / iconic.
+ It's also interesting to me now looking back that I appear to be fascinated with patterns and magenta since at least 10 years ago!
Aside from generating petty change every month, Google Adsense can also serve as an ambient device for you to figure out how well your blog posts are without jumping into Google Analytics.
When I first installed it, it had four random text ads on it.
Then I wrote a good blog post, and the four ad units turned into three text units
Then the spot hosts two ads
Until finally it turns into one giant ad.
When it turns into a single ad, I noted that:
The first time it turned into a single 728x90 banner, it's usually an Ameriprise ad
Then I'd start getting Circuit City ads
And then I'd get Yahoo ads (as seen above)
Until finally I get Google ads!
And when my blog posts aren't that great, it will start to dwindle back to 2-4 ads... when eventually it might even get to public service ads, which, thankfully never happens anymore. :)
Things should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
— Albert Einstein
Is more better? Depends.
More data is better, when you have the means to adequately mine the data in usable terms. If you don’t have the means to mine the data, they possibly will end up being unusable.
But life, experience, and data-mining tools are all iterative. In other words, they will get better
There will be a time where you have discovered a way to get to those data efficiently.
When that day comes, you will want data. There’s no reason not to collect data now.
When I got my first job out of college in 1999, the first thing I bought was a chess set from Chess Forum. Last year, seven years being at the same job, I bought my second chess set, and this is it: the Fischer set.
At first I am not too crazy about the tops on the bishops. I thought that it might actually make more sense to have the dot be white for the bishops on the white square and a black dot for the bishops on the black square.
However, when I took this photo today from a top-down angle, I suddenly noted the genius design in this set, you can easily tell the bishops from the pawns in this view!
Concept
Instead of daily vanity/ego search, create a Yahoo Pipe to search simultaneously using Google, Live and Yahoo and turn them into an RSS feed. In other words, instead of turning yourself into a bot to monitor the bots' activities, spend your time to create relevant content be indexed instead!
1. It appears that your algorithm on machine-learning is doing quite well. These items are indeed interesting!
2. I recommend that your tweak your modifiers. For example, in Top-Queries.5, Propellerhead.Reason.4 is obviously related to my audio software searches, but you should be smart enough to know that I don't torrent.
Torrent, like data, information, website, etc. is a modifier and as such should probably not be used. Focus on the subject, which, in this case, should be Reason 4. In other words, make sets out of your queries for (reason 4)* instead.
Concept
The Jen + Peter logo reversed out and created as a traditional Chinese seal (stamp / chop). The seal is used to add a personal touch to all the thank you notes.
To save cost, we utilized commercial rubber stamp companies. The stamps are not perfect, but the imperfection actually adds value to the individually written stationary. Guests felt extra special when things are not prepackaged. Total cost for production: 34 dollars including shipping.
Wedding Identity / Logo Double Happiness reinterpreted using lines and geometric shapes. Graphically, the traditional symbol for wedding literally unite the first names of the woman and the man.
The logo also draws inpsiration from the icons for the male and female symbols. This influence is much more apparent when you flip the logo.
Concept
Save-the-Date as a literal act of making a mark on a calendar. To save cost, designs were printed on Avery circular labels using on a Fiery printer (color laser jet).
Typography
Helvetica (Masculine / Modern / Yin) combined with BickhamScriptPro (Feminine / Traditional / Yang) to create a united synergy of harmony.
For the engagement party sticker, the type flows spirally from outside to the center, suggesting two person coming together and join on one day. For the wedding save-the-date sticker, the type spirals out from the center to suggest the date where they start to expand the lives together for eternity.
Kiss is an active project of mine. I have been working on it since 2007. I rarely photograph in the studio, so most of these were taken in real life, usually during events were I happened to be photographing.
I usually try to get permission after spotted the love birds in their acts. The photos were shot after I gained permission, but as love is in the air, they generally came out fairly natural as they could care less about whether or not a camera was pointing to them or not! (This is true even for my own self portrait with MMF!)
Actually these are photography disguised as paintings. I have always wanted to paint but I lack the drawing skills so I try my best to create what I wish to do through the lens of my camera.
I've been reading strobist for a while now and learned a ton of techniques on shooting with flash inside and outside of the studio but I never really tried much of it outside of my studio.
Since I was carrying a ton of equipment for my photo trip to Sunset Park, I thought that I would try my first shot using an umbrella outside the studio. Wow what a difference! Definitely carrying the light stand with me next time I go out. Absolutely worth the extra bit of weight!
I met Aaron Johnson (Flickr:Erotocrat) on Flickr. I really enjoy his stream and the witty comments by him and his loyal followers, and I decided to meet up with him on 2009-09-04. All photographs were taken that same afternoon.
Aaron keeps a journal to jot down interesting conversation. Hopefully I'll get quoted at some point in his satires.
Men trapped in a prison named GYM
167 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011
What is art?
I think this is art!
I think this is art too!
Abstracts: everywhere I go, I like to do abstracts.
Eastern State Penitentiary (Wikipedia) is considered one of America's most historic former prisons. It was the world's first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire penitence - or true regret - in the hearts of criminals. the original seven cellblocks spread like the spokes of a wheel, and had running water and central heat before the White House.
Its vaulted, sky-lit cells held many of America's most notorious criminals, including bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton and "Scarface" Al Capone. The prison stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and a surprising, eerie beauty.
Check out the full set on Flickr. Detailed description of the photos are included on the Flickr photo page. Here are some highlights.
Hallway
Hub at the Center
Typical cell
The cell of Al Capone
Abstracts
HDR
The extreme lighting condition at the Eastern State Penitentiary (Flickr set) makes a fine candidate of creating some HDR photos. I'm glad that I brought my tripod!
Downtown Brooklyn is changing very quickly, with buildings going up at a very fast pace. With development comes the scaffolding and other construction materials that often present itself as a wonderful canvas for photography.
Abstracts in C major and C minor refers to the dominance of the color cyan. C major is where cyan fills out the photo. C minors are duets of cyan with other colors.
Tonight I went to see Arthur's Landing and I took some photographs. The place is completely dark and I'm using my flash. The dynamic energy and motion of the musicians were lost, so I thought to myself, why not try it out with multi-strobes - it's silly to get the 580EX and just stick it on with TTL all the time.
So here it is. Hand-held at a live event, with no tripod, trying to hold the camera still while setting the flash to multi at 10Hz. It's pretty clear that I couldn't really hold still, as there are double-image of the drums, but the musician's motion were captured. I will definitely shoot more in multi-strobes in the future.
The event
Arthur's Landing
Genre: Pop / Experimental / House
A celebration of musical genius Arthur Russell www.myspace.com/arthurslanding
Charles Arthur Russell, Jr. (May 21, 1951 – April 4, 1992) was an American cellist, composer, singer, and disco artist. While he found the most success in dance music, Russell's career bridged New York's downtown, rock, and dance music scenes; his collaborators ranged from Philip Glass to David Byrne to Nicky Siano. Relatively unknown during his lifetime, a series of reissues and compilations have raised his profile in the 2000s.
http://photoblog.seeminglee.com/2009/08/fish-story.html
From time to time, I browse back old photos in my Lightroom library and find things that I did not like then that I like now. The intensity of the green is so intense in the raw file that I had to tone it down quite bit. Looks like they're having a family meeting of sorts.
http://photoblog.seeminglee.com/2009/08/decay.html
There is something exciting about lines and texture coming off of natural decay, and stories to be found with each mark. It's up to anyone's interpretation. For me, these marks taken while riding the Boston Duck Tour forms the gateway to the heavens.
Boston
http://photoblog.seeminglee.com/2009/08/boston.html
Last week a went up to Boston to join my parents visiting from Hong Kong to visit my sister. Unlike my previous visits where I was too busy with my friends, I really got to spend some quality time with my family. Since it was a family trip and not a photo trip, I brought only a single lens and I now declare the 24-70 f/2.8L my everywhere lens.
My sister was kind enough to drive me around the MIT campus and the Harvard Medical School where she now works to see some pretty spectacular buildings, and I am grateful for I have found some very eye-candy to savor for a good while.
Space and the quality of light
http://photoblog.seeminglee.com/2008/09/space-and-quality-of-light.html
Taking photographs of people was fun for a while. The journalistic images generated much traffic for my Flickr stream, and photographs depicting the diverse lives of souls have given me much pleasure. Event photography requires a totally different skillset, and I am happy to have the experience I had in the past two years doing that... but I appear to have neglected the reason why I started to begin with, which was to study composition. As I ran out of reasons to find and attend events that I appear to have no other purpose than to find materials in front of my lenses, I went back to my roots today and decided to explore light.
It started out as a reminder on the quality of light from a Strobist blog post, that, we can manipulate light with texture and other qualities. That light does not need to be what emits solely from the source, but be added subtle texture to add another dimension onto what would otherwise be another blank canvas. And so the journey started with an off-camera strobe, a few metal cylinders lying around (one being the capucinno frother, and the other being my ashtray)... I put on the Canon 580EX on my lightstand, put up my umbrella and started shooting as it passes the circular holes of the Ikea chair to create little spot lights on the subject.
It started with a predefined goal, but ended with something much for satisfying in the end. Here's a series of image which dates back before the sudden strike of inspiration, leading through different light sources and shadow to explore space using the quality of light:
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM: Experience Report: Part 1
http://photoblog.seeminglee.com/2008/08/canon-ef-24-70mm-f28-l-usm-experience.html
Bought a new lens this weekend: the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM. This is my first L lens priced over a thousand dollars, so for sure it is a fairly big buy for me. It also filled the gap in my lens line-up between 40 and 70 (which are currently served by either 17-40 and 70-200). Based on the results taken today around Brooklyn Bridge, it looks like that it has made its cut to become my new walk-around lens.
Did you know that kissing is not just an act of affection, but has biological function? Apparently, it is a way to allow prospective mates to smell and taste each other's pheromones for biological compatibility. (Reference: Wikipedia: kiss)
http://photoblog.seeminglee.com/2008/06/gay-pride-new-york-2008.html
It was pouring so hard that I missed the parade this year, but I did managed to photograph the other events during pride week. Because of the weather, I shot most of these at ISO 800. Although quite grainy when viewed at 1:1, the photographs were fine at screen resolution scaled down.
As in my previous experience, for shooting events with a lot of crowd, zooming all the way into the expression of folks far outweigh the necessity to show the costume and such.
Review of the lens
After spending most of my time shooting with L lenses, the lack of color vibration is fairly prominent to me. The sharpness difference is also fairly pronounced in detail, but not that you can see it on Flickr anyhow. (most people don't view large)
How to use Gmail filters to maintain sanity with social media
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmlProBlog/~3/fXYHM6r5SF8/how-to-use-gmail-filters-to-maintain.html
One of the unfortunate side-effects when you belong to many social networks and subscribe to many listserv is the insane amount of emails you get on a daily basis. In this tutorial, I will illustrate how you can track these activities at your own pace and keeping your inbox tidy and maintaining an overall sanity in your very active technologically sound life.
Gmail Filters, in conjunction with Gmail Labels is all you need to achieve this. And is very simple to use as illustrated below:
This example illustrate how to take out those Twitter follow invites from your Inbox while allowing you to review them at your own pace.
1. Start by selecting Create a filter next to the search box.
2. In the Subject: field, enter "is now following you on Twitter!" and press Next Step > to continue.
3. Now choose the action you want to apply. You can do anything you want to it, but this is the common things that I do:
3A. Check Skip the Inbox (Archive it). This ensures that it will not show up in your inbox when it arrives.
3B. Create a new label in the Apply the label dropdown, or select an existing label that you would like to apply.
3C. If you are creating a new label, you might want to Also apply filter to conversations below. I guess I had 5000 follows on Twitter since I started using Gmail. Now *that* would be insane if I didn't use Gmail filters!
Don't be alarm if you think that you will never see them again since you have skip the inbox, they still show up in your filter list, and unread items still show up as bold.
I use Gmail filters for pretty much everything, and auto-archive most of the stuff that goes into my inbox, leaving it clutter-free only with important stuff that I need to get to. Here's a list of examples of where you would want to auto-filter:
1. Social network activites. I label all of these with a prefix soc: so they are grouped together nicely in the filter list. Aardvark, Facebook, FriendFeed, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter, or whatever. All gone. Best of all and especially for Facebook activities, I usually can just take a quick glance at the list titles to note the things that require actions, then select all and Mark as Read.
2. Listserv. Do you subscribe to a lot of listserv? Anyone of those IxDA list will turn your inbox into a nightmare!
3. Magazine subscription. I enjoy some of the publication alerts like MKQ and WSJ but they get scary very soon. I like keeping these as email items instead of just reading them in list readers so I can search for them later.
4. Google Alerts. Comes in thousands. Good to know when your stuff get blogged etc. This is especially useful if you license your content via Creative Commons.
5. Keywords. Some times come through in multiple places and does not have a particular subject / email address. Use keywords to bundle them up together.
6. Email addresses. Gmail support retrieving other external accounts. So you can use the same strategy to check your other mails, and also apply labels where necessary.
Choichun Leung / 13th Annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival NYC 2009: Part 10 of 10 / Art + Artists
When I first saw her paintings I had originally thought that she had a graphic design background because of their calligraphic and typographic nature, but it turns out that she was educated in the UK at Loughborough College in 3D Design with a concentration in Jewelry and Silversmithing. Here's a short video interview where she talks about herself and her work:
http://www.choichun.com/artist.html
Choichun Leung left Wales when she was seventeen to pursue a degree in metal-smithing at Loughborough college of Art and Design in the UK, afterwhich she studied Buddhist iconography in both Beijing and the Yangkung caves in China's Shanxi province. In 1988 she moved to London where she studied under the Ray Man Chinese Orchestra as a percussionist and a student of the Gu-qin - a traditional Chinese bass zither. Leung worked in Hong Kong as a background artist for animation film before returning to London in 1992 where she received a grant and Gold Award from the Prince of Wales' Youth Business Trust for the most innovative new business of the year: a line of symbolic art products using the traditional technique of Chinese paper cutting. With music and the arts always hand in hand, Leung came to New York in 1994 where she began painting seriously, worked as an assistant to artist Peter Max, and studied music composition. From that point forward, Choichun's artwork has been inextricably entwined with her interest in music and have continued to influence each other. As the single mother of a young daughter, Choichun moved to Germany in 2002 to write music, perform and collaborate on an audio/visual project based in Koln. Upon the invitation of a gallery in 2006 she returned to New York. Most recently Choichun has been featured in two solo exhibitions at JLA Baxter House in Manhattan and will take part in a group showing in Hamburg in November 2008. Choichun currently lives in Brooklyn, NYC.
Artist Statement
http://www.choichun.com/artiststatement.html Our lives are as long as we remember. Our memories are imbedded in us like DNA. But what of lives that through trauma or age have lost memory? What of the interplay of conscious thought and the sub-conscious? Which one really drives the show? My paintings are like rorschach tests in reverse, a psychological diary of that moment in time, an investigation of the relationship between past and present, reality and illusion and in effect a blue print to the past self. Through the symbolisms revealed, and the stories or objects we project into the abstract, we expose another layer of ourselves and in turn provide clues to what may not be fully aware. My paintings are simple traces of that activity, void of any meaning, but imbedded with the years of experience that shapes us, yet also holds us hostage.
Choichun never paints from sketches but instead allows the process and medium dictate. Each application is an expressive gesture evoking the emotion and inner psychology of that moment, a conflicted excavation of what may be hidden or imagined. The script like lines emerge as a non-cognitive language or what she has come to identify as 'glyphs' - a pictographic personal alphabet; where 'glyphs' document the days, weeks and months spent on a piece. The one actual reference that Choichun can identify in her work after the fact springs from her background in music and her fascination with its chaotic notes and interpretive patterns. These can be seen in the work's fine, rhythmic and frenetic lines as well as in the heavier, poured-on, black & white 'mono-glyphs' which overtake the paintings like visual representations of a sound. Choichun paints on both wood panels and canvas, using liquid acrylic, aerosol, oil bars and thread . With sticks, brushes, trowels and vessels: applying the paint and then scratching through the layers to reveal what is underneath, scripting with ‘glyphs’ throughout, painting over, sanding down and repeating this process until an image is revealed or another is hidden.
1. Process + Methodology. Dean Russo chats with See-ming Lee (SML) and Mac Farr (MMF) about the process and methodology in creating his mixed media paintings. The artist also mentioned interesting aspects of how the economy fundamentally changes the way he works.
4. Artist Toolbox. Touring Dean Russo's artist studio was an interesting experience, as I haven't really met any pop artists in person before. Here we find many interesting tools not commonly found in an artist toolbox: stencils, spray paints, etc. It's quite a wonder to see, but there are also the familiar tools like color pencils and pastels.
5. Process. Most people like to see the end result, but I prefer seeing the process. I believe that process is an important part, without it you cannot have the result. During our interview, Dean told me about his entire process in creating his mixed media paintings, as long as I don't record it nor write it down. As such, I cannot really write about it either but all I can say is that I find it very interesting — that an artist workflow is not far from that from designers (my primary profession).
6. Dean Russo's mixed media paintings include many iconic public figures, but interestingly also many cats and dogs — many of which are commissioned work. You can purchase his paintings at his Etsy site. Most items are priced around $69 depending on their sizes, which is quite a bargain for original artwork — it's not uncommon to find fine art prints asking for more than that these days so 1/1 editions at that price is a great deal!
Olek was born Agata Oleksiak in Poland and graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland with a degree in cultural studies. In New York, she rediscovered her ability to crochet and since then she has started her crocheted journey/madness.
Here's my video interview with her the day we first met:
"I think crochet, the way I create it, is a metaphor for the complexity and interconnectedness of our body and its systems and psychology. The connections are stronger as one fabric as opposed to separate strands, but, if you cut one, the whole thing will fall apart.
Relationships are complex and greatly vary situation to situation. They are developmental journeys of growth, and transformation. Time passes, great distances are surpassed and the fabric which individuals are composed of compiles and unravels simultaneously."
Olek's work has been presented in galleries from Brooklyn to Istanbul to Venice and Brazil, featured in "The New York Times", "Fiberarts Magazine", "The Village Voice", and "Washington Post" and drags a tail of dance performance sets and costumes too numerous to mention.
Olek received the Ruth Mellon Award for Sculpture, was selected for 2005 residency program at Sculpture Space, 2009 residency in Instituto Sacatar in Brazil, and is a winner of apex art gallery commercial competition. Olek was an artist in an independent collective exhibition, "Waterways," during the 49th Venice Biennale. She was also a featured artist in "Two Continents Beyond," at the 9th International Istanbul Biennale.
Olek herself however can be found in her Greenpoint studio with a bottle of spiced Polish vodka and a hand rolled cigarette aggressively re-weaving the world as she sees.
Also showing at Smack Mellon right now is the series titled The End of the Trail by Fernando Souto. I thought taht it would be odd to photograph someone else's photographs so I decided to do a video of the opening reception instead — you can call this the art + art lovers remix!
“My parents emigrated from Uruguay to Australia when I was eighteen months old. With my extended family still in Uruguay, I never had the opportunity to really know my relatives, particularly my grandmother, who always seemed to be really old to me. The brief, scrambled, international phone calls throughout my childhood did little for me to understand who I was and where I had come from.
In 2002, my grandmother turned one hundred years old and I got a brief opportunity to spend some time with her. Looking at family photographs and listening to the stories of her childhood inspired me to start this photographic project titled, The End of the Trail. During my stay in Uruguay, I set out to photograph the essence of her stories and to gain a greater understanding of my heritage. My thoughts of ranch life were mostly filled with romantic ideals of freedom and independence. I had no concept of the harsh environment that the ranchers lived and worked in, and how the intense solitude defines them. At that moment, I decided to immerse myself in their day-to-day lives, pulling from these experiences to create a unique perspective of their fading culture.
From my initial trip to Uruguay in 2002, my interest in this project evolved, and I decided to expand into other countries where ranching had a significant presence in the culture and traditional working techniques still existed. Through extensive research I decided upon seven countries that had adapted the original working techniques of the Spanish Conquistadors and established a ranching heritage that spanned centuries. Those countries include Spain, Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Australia.
To date, I have covered cattle ranches in central Australia, Uruguay, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. My plan is to complete this photographic series, which would include south Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Mexico and two additional regions in the United States. I had never intended for this documentary to be a weightless visual record, but an enduring photographic series that is told on the faces of the people that live and work in this unique global culture.”
Fernando Souto currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay in1972, Souto immigrated with his family to Sydney, Australia in 1974. Before studying photography at The Fashion Institute of Technology in 1994, he apprenticed with a Sydney-based photographer specializing in black & white printing. Originally planning on becoming a commercial photographer, he pursued assisting work with location-based portrait photographers throughout the late nineties. In 2002 Souto began his long-term project titled The End of the Trail, a humanistic story of the contemporary cowboy that spans seven countries. This series is shot on film and printed using traditional black and white gelatin papers. In 2008 Souto was chosen to attend the Review Santa Fe and exhibited his work at the Michael Mazzeo Gallery (NYC). Recently Souto was granted an emerging artists award from Photo District News for his work on The End of the Trail.
Next we went to Smack Mellon for the artists' reception for two solo exhibitions. The first is Ellen Driscoll's installation FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 2.
1. Installation
Composed of thousands of discarded plastic bottles collected by Ellen Driscoll, FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 2 takes a critical look at the environmental and human damage inflicted by the oil and water industries in the last two centuries on regions as diverse as Nigeria and the United States.
Artist Statement. “This installation is a continuation of a multi-year series which explores the dynamics of resource harvesting and consumption. This part of the series focuses on oil and water. Rising at 5:30 AM, I harvest #2 plastic bottles from the recycling bags put out for collection on the streets of Brooklyn. For one hour, one day at a time, I immerse myself in the tidal wave of plastic that engulfs us by collecting as many bottles as I can carry. The sculptural installation for Smack Mellon comprises 2600 bottles transformed into a 28 foot landscape. Constructed solely of harvested #2 plastic, the sculpture collapses three centuries into a ghostly translucent visual fugue in which a nineteenth century trestle bridge plays host to an eighteenth century water-powered mill which spills a twenty-first century flood from its structure. The flow contains North American, Middle Eastern, and African landmasses (sites of oil harvesting and their consumer destination) buoyed by a sea of plastic water molecules. The piece looks back to eighteenth century American industry powered by water, and forward to the oil refineries of the Niger Delta, site of prolonged guerilla warfare against oil corporations and the source of over fifty percent of crude oil for the United States—the oil that produces the plastic within which our privatized water is currently bought and sold.”
This installation is so gigantic that it was hard to photograph and examine the detail at the same time, so I created a video fly-through so you can experience the piece to approximate my own experience with the piece:
Artist Statement. “The wall drawings in the exhibition are based on a close study of the inner workings of an oil refinery. By using huge shifts of scale between the macro and the micro, they depict a dystopic future based on rampant oil consumption. An oil rig shares the horizon with ocean fires and garbage scows, mega shopping malls are abandoned to spontaneous communities of slums, and a refugee camp is inundated by the waters of a melting glacier. The worlds in the drawings are drained of color, but filled with the flux and spillage of a potentially chaotic future.”
Ellen Driscoll is a sculptor whose work includes FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 1 at Frederieke Taylor Gallery, Revenant and Phantom Limb for Nippon Ginko, Hiroshima, Japan, The Loophole of Retreat at the Whitney Museum, Phillip Morris, As Above, So Below for Grand Central Terminal (a suite of 20 mosaic and glass images for the tunnels at 45th, 47th, and 48th Streets), Catching the Drift, a restroom for the Smith College Museum of Art, and Wingspun for the International Arrivals Terminal at Raleigh-Durham airport. Ms. Driscoll has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bunting Institute at Harvard University, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, the LEF Foundation, and Anonymous Was a Woman. Her work is included in major public and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of Art. She is a Professor of Sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design.
