diego and julio

_posted in dayedayerocks | 29 June 2008

My two friends, Deigo and Julio, both 8 years old, created these amazing pictures for me last week. They made my day. I got a chance to have lunch with them as well and chit chat about roller coasters, designing cars, how horrible the new Indiana Jones move is and how kindergarteners don't know how to draw a proper human skull. Id have to say it was a mighty fine lunch.

"Armor Light Ninja"    drawing credit: Diego and Julio

"Ninja"    drawing credit: Diego and Julio

"The Hand"    drawing credit: Diego and Julio

"Dragon"    drawing redit: Diego and Julio

"Gazimila"    drawing credit: Diego and Julio

"Aquashot"    drawing credit: Diego and Julio

The Film School Reject

_posted in dayedayerocks | education | film | 27 April 2008

"Two Keys"    painting credit: Daye Rogers

It's official. I am a film school reject. Last week I was officially denied. After contacting the powers that be I was told that "while [my] interview was wonderful" my academic past is what put the nail in the proverbial coffin. My time at Georgia State University, many many years ago, seems to be something I can't escape. The usual suspects, Antero, Buffi, Cathie, Peter and Van have been extremely supportive in equally trashing UCLA with me, as well as expressing their support and belief in me. Words could never express my appreciation for their support.

I don't know where this leaves things. On August 29th it will be 4 years that I left my home, with my grandparents standing on the front porch waving goodbye. Four years that fit into a 15 minute interview - that I should be proud that I received by the way since I was one of only 32 people interviewed from at least 1500 people. Well good for me. That will always mean jack shit, as in nothing.

So now I'm free to create a new 4 year plan that may result in yet another disappointment, move on to another city, cultivate what I can here and see what happens, reapply to UCLA again in November, or move back to Atlanta. There are obviously many routes I can take but right now I'm focusing on trying to mourn as dignified as I can on this dream of UCLA Film School for Fall 2008 until it doesn't hurt when I think about it.

I haven't had that much time to think about it honestly, since I've been busy painting for a small joint show I'm putting on at SCOOPS, which starts today. But once the apartment is cleaned and the art supplies are all put away I'll have to sit down and actually address this failure. And it's not solely my own, but that of UCLA's as well. It isn't ego that says that, rather resolve that I was the right person and they couldn't see beyond mistakes made in my youth. Sometimes there really aren't any second chances. But then again, Randy Pausch says, "But remember, the brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people."

I wanted this badly enough that I left my family and my friends to move across the country to a city that is overcrowded, expensive and that I hate tremendously. I wanted this badly enough that I spent wasted time in classes at a community college that's more of a joke than anything else. I wanted this badly enough that I spent money I didn't have on a $3000 camera. And the truth is I still want it. Badly.

While film school is not a necessity going back to school is. Part of my life's goal is filmmaker but another part, teaching, requires this dream of continued education to come to fruition.

But in all that I can't forget that I have a massive project that will be my something wonderful. The more I think of the Black Cloud, the more I realize that it's that thing thats going to help me evolve enough to be able to fly over my current brick wall.

smitten smitten smitten

_posted in dayedayerocks | 30 March 2008

The opening scene of No Country for Old Men

The coupling of Johnny Greenwood's soundtrack and Robert Elswit's cinematography in There Will Be Blood

Apica Notebook III

Richard Dawkin's review of Expelled

David Simon's Final Letter to The Wire fans

March's Lessons Learned

_posted in dayedayerocks | lessons learned | 29 March 2008

Number 01.

Using dull knives makes cooking more like a chore than a joy.

Number 02.

Carrying a 4.5lb camera for 5 hours straight feels more like carrying a 50lb weight. But that end of the day pain feels oh so good.

Number 03.

Money (or lack of money) makes most of your decisions for you.

Number 04.

Practicing patience only makes me more impatient.

Number 05.

Spring cleaning does not mean shifting shit from one room to another.

Number 06.

Being right isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Number 07.

Being behind a camera makes me forget everything else. Putting the camera down is like being thrown back into chaos.

news and more news

_posted in dayedayerocks | film | 10 March 2008

I've been in a holding pattern concerning a few projects, so I've not wanted to speak on them until I got an official thumbs up as it were. The most important (and interesting) of the non personal projects has been officially thumbed up!

As I mentioned my friend Antero is a recipient of the MacArthur Grant's Digital Media and Learning Innovation grant, in collaboration with Greg Niemeyer of UC Berkley. I had the opportunity to pitch an idea to Greg over brunch some weeks ago and let me tell you, the energy around that table was amazing. It's been some time since I congregated around a meal and talked about art and ideas. It was a great feeling. By the time I got home the energy was too much to contain, so I put it to good use and tackled my to-do lists. I actually put a few open-ended projects to bed that weekend.

My pitch, documenting their project. Greg and Antero's project is Black Cloud: Environmental Studies Gaming. Take some time to read about it.
Black Cloud Project Site
Mac Arthur Foundation's Digital Learning and Media Project Site

The game is going to be ran twice, once in Los Angeles at Manual Arts High School, South Central and in the Zamalek district of Cairo, Egypt.

I'm happy to say that I will be working on documenting the game: filming the process of creating the game and prepping it for students, the actual game played by the students, as well as helping the kids create their own short documentaries about the game and what they've learned. More details to come as things unfold of course.

I'm super excited about it all.

Some of my other projects are work related and I'm happy that I'm finally going to work on some extremely interesting and creative things. I'll speak on those as they reach their final approval stages.

_soundcheck: mellow: cq

just a few of the many reasons i love sergio leone

_posted in film | 08 March 2008

I started the morning off with Once Upon a Time in the West. I can never just get through the movie in one shot. There are too many perfect moments and I have to go back and watch them over and over again. Let's forget about the cinematography, the music, the landscape for a second (hard to do, but let's try) and we're left with some classic dialogue. There are so many great lines but these are my favorite. And a hand full of Irish gingers (that's for you harume)! It's all about Sergio this weekend.

_quote 1

Harmonica: And Frank?
Snaky: Frank sent us.
Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me?
Snaky: (Chuckling) It looks like we're...shy one horse!
Harmonica: You brought two too many. (Harmonica shoots the three henchmen dead)

_quote 2

Jill: Mrs. McBain goes back to civilization. Minus a husband and plus a great future.
Cheyenne: You deserve better.
Jill: The last man who told me that is buried out there.
Cheyenne: You know, Jill, you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was for an hour or for a month... he must have been a happy man.

_quote 3

Frank: How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can't even trust his own pants.

_quote 4

Harmonica: Five thousand dollars.
Cheyenne: Judas was satisfied with 4,970 dollars less.
Harmonica: There weren't no dollars in them days.
Cheyenne: But sons-of-bitches? Yeah.

_quote 5

Jill: And you! You saved his life.
Harmonica: I didn't let them kill him. That's not the same thing.

_vidcheck: sergio leone: once upon a time in the west

just in general...

_posted in dayedayerocks | education | smitten with | 07 March 2008

Currently Smitten With

Bedrich Smetana's Vltava (Die Moldau)
Engraved Moleskines
The Rubber Room
Pyrex Love
Mad About Mugs
Zakuski

This I Believe

Everyday I read a "This I Believe" essay. Everyday I learn something new, everyday something resonates within me. I've included one of Antero's kids "This I Believe." I may have not mentioned it but he's blogging for the LA Times now. I know, superstar. OH! And he got won a massive MacArthur Grant with Greg Niemeyer from UC Berkley!

_quote 1

I had big expectations of the students, but after my first day, I asked my sister about what was wrong with the people in my school. She told me that the people I expected to see go to different schools and I asked why hadn't she taken me there? She took the time to explain.
The first thing she asked me was: "Do you think segregation is only in Sudan?" I said no, but I don't think there is segregation in the U.S.
Berhanu: This I Believe

_quote 2

In sharing this story, I believe I can speak to someone who is where Catherine was: Someone who is valuable, who is worth while, and who is loved. I believe that in one moment of admirable strength, the chains and silence can be broken, if even with only a whisper that says, "I need some help."
Tiesha: A Moment of Admirable Strength

_quote 3

Family is defined by bonds much deeper than birth, or skin color, or genetics. Those of us lucky enough experience 'found' love know that family is defined only by the heart.
Stephanie: Family is Defined by Bonds Deeper Than Birth

_quote 4

For those that claim motherhood (or stepmother-hood) is a thankless job, I submit that all of us are nothing more or less than the sum of who we love. It doesn't matter whether your family is whole, divorced or divided, the only way to achieve any kind of happiness in this world is by loving a handful of people. I believe we are marked by the people who love us, whether we like it or not, for the rest of our short lives on earth.
Amy: The Best Kind of Grief is Gratitude

test from macjournal

_posted in dayedayerocks | 01 March 2008

I finally got the MacBookPro back and it’s taken me the last two days just to reinstall apps and copy over my files. I use at least two machines a day, sometimes up to four and I’m ashamed to say even with being Queen Geek I haven’t properly streamlined my computer life. I’ve been using MacJournal for about 6 months and just never set up the blogging option and a few other things that will make life easier (hopefully). So this is a TEST. Is this thing on, can you hear me?

macbookpro. dead.

_posted in dayedayerocks | 20 February 2008

The tune dead but him nuh dead.

Well the tune dead and him dead. My fucking MacBook Pro, my life line has become a heavy ass brick!

The MacBook dead. Fuck you Apple. Fuck you in the ass of life. Just like you're fucking me.

cry cry gary.

_posted in dayedayerocks | 17 February 2008

When I was younger my grandmother and I use to go to Philly and New York every year to see family. Compared to my cousins I was a sheltered child. Fucking Brooklyn makes you hard coming out the womb, yo. My female cousins are "fast assed little girls," as my Da always said.

Before I made it to the den of iniquity we spent a few weeks in Philly with great grand Auntie Sylvie (big Sylvie). She is the reason I love opera, classical music and musicals. She'd pick us up from the airport or bus depot and the second we stepped across the threshold she knew I was ready to watch Bizet's Carmen, with a chaser of Fiddler on the Roof. My grandmother and her sisters all made fun of Auntie Sylvie aka Ms. Prim and Proper and her "crazy" music. I loved it, still do.

I thought of all this tonight after talking to my cousin Gary. We don't get to talk that much but when we do it's always good and fucking hilarious. He's only a couple of years older than me and just as much of a clown. When talking about Gary it always comes up that he's the baby of 7 kids and how he was a crybaby! My great Auntie Sylvie (little Sylvie) and everyone else called him "Cry Cry Gary." So when ever I talk to him I never let him forget it. Gary is the cousin who'd most like me, which makes me love him even more.

Cry Cry Gary, his mom, Da and me were planning on going to Panama together. That was the plan. But he was told he was going to be forward deployed from Kuwait to Iraq sometime between December - January, which didn't happen. We were hoping that we could plan for this summer, but he told me it wouldn't happen so we shouldn't wait. Seems its a definite that he'll be shipping out (AGAIN!) in May. I'll hopefully get to see him on my way back from Panama for a few days before he leaves. So between May - January of next year he'll be serving in Iraq once again. He did it twice for daddy Bush and this will be his second time for bratty Bush. Then in March he can retire.

I don't even what to entertain the thoughts in my head right now. I just know I'm looking forward to my second trip to Panama when he gets back- me, Da, and my Auntie Sylvie with Cry Cry Gary.

happy valentine's day!

_posted in dayedayerocks | 14 February 2008

"Waiting for his turn."    photo credit: Daye Rogers

Four years ago today my boy Bran, my friend Bowen and I went to the comic book spot to buy our monthly stash. Brandon has crushed on Bowen for some time and I was constantly "trying to out that kid" as Jordan use to say. And on that day, Brandon came to terms with his sexuality... so happy gay day my friend... happy gay day...

Death #2

_posted in dayedayerocks | 08 February 2008

A friend lost her brother yesterday. I haven't talked to this friend since November 2005. It's another one of those leaving "open ended pain in my wake" things. Rightly or wrongly I walked away from our friendship shortly before I left Atlanta. At the time I felt I needed to be around people I felt were proactive in order to feed out that energy instead of the weekly humdrums and what-ifs. I walked away from three people: Drew, Jake and May. I've since then reconciled with Drew and Jake. Like I said, "those I truly loved first and still find room to be angry with, have never and will never lose my favor." And May is one of those people. Unfortunately, I could never swallow my pride and reach out more than that passive aggressive social network way. Sending an "add request" on MySpace is not an active attempt to reconcile. It's passive and no one deserves such a half ass attempt at reconciliation.

At this moment May is dealing with a lost that I can't even imagine. She's always been an extremely sweet person. Why the universe deemed it necessary for her to lose her 33 year old brother is beyond me.

I can't say at this moment that I want to call family and friends and tell them how much they mean to me. I try to show that everyday, but more days than not I only accomplish fucking up relationships.

I was recently told, in a round about way, that I've not been a good friend when it came to the emotional aspect of a friendship. It sucks to be told you're not a good friend, but it's not like I haven't done that many times, when I felt slighted, which happens to be often.

All I can hope is that while May is dealing with her loss, she comes out the other end alright.

Too Many People

_posted in dayedayerocks | 05 February 2008

My hand it shakes, my belly aches, I shouldn't be here
But what can I do
Cos I spent last night in our room
A second chance, a near escape, I learnt my lesson
But not so easily
And I left my weapon at the scene

What you gonna do about it now
Cos too many people love you and you're never around
What you gonna do it now
Cos they're always lookin for you and you're never in town

My head it pounds, so many sounds, as reason wakens
To present it's case
Cos my conscience always speaks too late
I wait until I get my chance to change the subject
But not to obviously
Cos my weakness knows no subtlety

What you gonna do about it now
Cos too many people love you and you're never around
What you gonna do it now
Cos they're always lookin for you and you're never in town

My hand it shakes, my belly aches, I shouldn't be here
But what can I do

What you gonna do about it now
Cos too many people love you and you're never around
What you gonna do it now
Who are you onna run to when this all gets you down
ollie cole: too many people

Barack '08 :: Yes we can.

_posted in politics | 04 February 2008

Dipdive

Update: Antero sent this link from The American Scene: Peter Sunderman's Can We?

January's Lessons Learned

_posted in dayedayerocks | lessons learned | 03 February 2008

I figured I'd post what lessons I learned each month. I think this will be a great reminder of what my year looked like.

Number 01.

It's interesting who's willing to just listen and who's not. Trust issues exist for a reason. That was a hard lesson to learn, yet I learned it.

Number 02.

Running hard and fast is a good idea until you're a few feet from the end. It seems I never have the energy to finish but somehow I do. Being a champ when you set unrealistic goals only makes you want to set more unrealistic goals and be a champ time and time again. Great lesson learned.

Number 03.

Saying, "No," is a lesson I learned many moons ago, but rarely practice. It's been sometime since I actually said, "No," but I can feel it stuck in my throat, itching to come out. Hopefully it will make its debut in the following weeks.

Number 04.

Waiting for something long desired is only part of the process. If it turns out well then you walk away proud that you were able to be patient and feel deserving. If it turns out sour, you walk away proud that you even tried.

Number 05.

Sometimes the computer needs to be turned off.

_vidcheck: james cameron: the terminator

A Father Dies

_posted in dayedayerocks | 22 January 2008

While I was driving home this afternoon I couldn't get my mind off Heath Ledger and it wasn't the possibility that he most likely died of an overdose, intentional or not. When we heard about it in the office we were all shocked and then came the jokes and snarky remarks. We hide our meanness in wit.

All we know for sure is a little girl is never going to know her father.

When she's old enough she's going to search for every bit of information she can find about him on the Internet. She's going to search for articles or video that talk about him being a dad and what that meant to him. She's going to try to find out what his favorite things were, places he loved the most. She'll wonder her entire life which books he would have read to her and what it would have been like to go to the zoo with him, the planetarium, the circus, to the ocean for the first time.

I know this because I did it. I grew up with grandparents who did a wonderful job. My grandmother was the emotional support I needed, my grandfather the economic. I have no memories of my grandfather ever hugging me as a child. I do remember a hug the day I graduated from high school, as well as the day I hopped in my car to drive to California a few years ago. I can count the number of hugs I remember from him with my own two hands. My grandmother on the other hand, never let a day go by without a hug. I remember them all.

I also remember finding my baby book when I was in 4th grade and there on the first page was my father's name. I found out he was in the military and he was stationed in Fort Benning and Panama. For some reason I had it in mind that he served in Vietnam. Forget that it was impossible due to dates not matching up, but when I was in 6th grade and we went to DC to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial I looked for his name. I was disappointed that it wasn't there, because the only thing that can keep a father from his daughter is death. Right?

anything but...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 20 January 2008

2004 Astronaut Candidate Jose Hernandez    photo credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center

Remember when I said I was going to be more consistent? Well, I have been. The blog has definitely talking a back seat to my classes and work. I'm taking two short session English courses. The short session is fucking short! Each week is equal to two weeks. In total the six weeks for short session equals thirteen weeks, the regular session time. So yea, I've been consistent and extremely organized. I've written more in the last three weeks than I have in the last two years.

I get out of the house one day a week to socialize with humans. I have a gang of movie passes but no time to go see a movie. So on my scheduled escape from behind my computer or a book was this past Friday. While having dinner with Antero he told me about a fellow teacher's class discussion about hegemony in the context of the Holocaust and Elie Wiesel's Night.

Travis asked his students, "What would happen if all white people were killed or put in jail?" (Travis is white, so he's including himself in the question.) One of his students raised his hand and said, "But who would invent everything and do all the science?"

Wow! Antero was blown away, as was I during the retelling of this incident. For a second my heart broke. Antero asked his own class why the kid's comment bothered him. It took the students a few moments to think about it. Then one kid raised his hand and sheepishly said, "Because it makes it seem like we can't do it."

ABSOLUTELY. Can you imagine thinking that your place in the world does not include that level of success? Fuck me, these kids are getting shafted. This wasn't some elementary school, rather high school students who will soon be out in the real world. With that type of thinking how far from the stereotype are they going get?

This is the kind of stuff I should be filming and putting online. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. To drive the point home that LAUSD is just a factory for housing a bunch of kids until they are 18 or so needs to be made clear. There are just too many stories there for me to sit on my ass.

first death of the year

_posted in dayedayerocks | 09 January 2008

I just got a call from my grandmother. My auntie died. She's my auntie because our families have been so close since my grandfather and her husband were in the army together, both serving in Korea and Vietnam. We kids all grew up together. My older brother and sister grew up with their son Harold. I grew up with their youngest son, Jumel. We told everyone we were cousins.

Our families have been friends for almost 60 years. Her husband, my uncle, died about 4 years ago- leukemia. She died of cancer among other things.

And so the first personal death of 2008. My hope is that no one else close to me dies this year. However, people are getting older. I keep feeling all the time I've spent across the country, has been time I took away from being with my family, especially my grandmother.

Anyway, you know the drill. Cherish every minute people. You want every breath... every single one.

There's night and day, brother. Both sweet things. Sun, moon and stars, all sweet things. Very quiet now. There's a wind on the heath. Life is very... sweet, brother. Life is very sweet, brother. Who would wish to die?
george darrow: Lavengro; the scholar, the gypsy, the priest

new music wednesday = dear god can i get some sleep, please?

_posted in new music wednesdays | 09 January 2008

another separate the asshole from the artist... "a shins rocker beats up only person he can, his skinny girlfriend."

angie stone: the art of love and war
animal collective: strawberry jam
freddie king: woman across the river
sharon jones: 100 days, 100 nights
johnny greenwood: there will be blood
talib kweli: focus
the shins: wincing the night away
vampire weekend: vampire weekend
young knives: voices of animals and men

i'm a star.

_posted in dayedayerocks | 31 December 2007

photographer: my grandmother

And so ends another year. And so a new year begins.

This new year, 2008 has been dubbed... "The Year of Setting Demons Free." Yes, I did say no naming of the year, but in that same post I gave in and said it would happen. So there.

The first 6 months of this year started off, in a word, horribly. Looking back it was some of the darkest days I've ever had and I paid for it accordingly. I wasted valuable time, missed a few opportunities that came my way and lost a few friends. These things happen.

The most important lesson learned from that time-- people fit into your life based on what they are capable of, not what you are wanting them to be capable of. And with that realization came a new level of trust with a few key people in my life and learning some extremely important lessons not so much about the world, but about myself.

I can only say I wouldn't trade that time nor those mistakes for anything. If not for every single one, I don't think I'd see 2008 as optimistically as I do now.

And so... I wish everyone the best for 2008. I think that we are all in for some amazing experiences.

"la voz aspera de la ternura"

_posted in new music wednesdays | 19 December 2007

chavela vargas: 30 grandes canciones
chavela vargas: cupaima
tego calderon: el abayarde
james blunt: all the lost souls
natasha bedingfield: n.b.
the maccabees: colour it in

_soundcheck: ahmad jamal: ahmad's blues

monday morning blues = you get nothing...

_posted in dayedayerocks | monday morning blues | 17 December 2007

you get nothing this monday morning... but i will give you two things i learned last night and one i've been wanting to put into everyday conversation.

_silliness no.1

it's better to have a bottle in front of you than have a frontal lobotomy.

_silliness no.2

one hand holds want you want and the other holds piss, which do you think will fill the quickest.

_silliness no.3

time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana.

so there you have... silly homespun humor that i am determined to place into everyday conversation.

_soundcheck: ben harper: both sides of the gun

new music wednesday = there is no conflict

_posted in new music wednesdays | 12 December 2007

here's a story. my friend buffi threw me a going away party right before i moved to l.a. and all the usual suspects were there including people i'd not seen in years. one group consisted of my computer science crew, all black chicks, who i spent many a night with in the computer lab programing. buffi has an old school jukebox and thousands of records. a few of said records were of ike and tina, as well as a few of ike turner's solo efforts. my friends were enraged and shocked that anyone would have ike turner records.

buffi overheard them venting their indignation and felt attacked and uncomfortable. i had to explain the whole black woman history with ike turner. the situation definitely confirmed my belief that you truly have to separate artist from asshole. to her ike turner was a great musician who knew how to rock ass on the guitar (which he was). to my friends ike was a wife beating bastard (which he was). for them there was no room for anything else.

let's be honest, ike turner was a down right bastard. flaws aside he was a damned good musician. i was always conflicted about separating the artist from the flawed individual. i love miles davis but again, another abusive asshole. there are so many artists who are questionable individuals. shit, there are so many books i'd never read, or music i'd never listen to, or films i'd never watch if i went on the merit of the person alone and not the work.

that's my spiel for this new music wednesday.... so on to the new music... enjoy.

annie lenox: songs of mass destruction
band of horses: cease to begin
manu chao: la radiolina
robert plant and alison krauss: raising sand
sigur ros: hvarf-heim
spoon: ga ga ga ga ga
the national: boxer
wynton marsalis: from the plantation to the penitentiary
youssou n'our: rokku mi rokka

_soundcheck: ike & tina turner: don't play me cheap/it's gonna work out fine

life in pictures... welcome back interactive narratives, you've been missed.

_posted in interactive narratives | photography | 12 December 2007

there has been a shortage of interactive media postings at cali stars, so i thought these new works could be the comeback post. sunday morning news catch up has been hiding out as well. let's be honest, i've not read one substantial thing in some months. but since the christmas break is slowing approaching, its time to catchup.

there are some amazingly beautiful images here. powerful and strong... anyway, on to the interactive goodies.

antero put me on to the boy in the moon. heartbreaking stuff...very well produced piece by a strong writer... it's very dense, it will take a few sittings to go through it all, but its absolutely worth it... there are at least 5 chapters for each part.

The Boy in the Moon

photographer: peter power/the globe and mail

part 1: full article and supplemental (01.dec.07)

part 2: full article and supplemental (08.dec.07)

part 3: full article and supplemental (15.dec.07)

_quote

Tonight is a lucky night: I can feel him slip off after 10 minutes. He stops grunting, strokes his bottle, turns his back and jams his bony little ass into my hip, a sure sign. He falls asleep.

I hurry after him. For all this nightly nightmare - eight years of desperate worry and illness and chronic sleep deprivation, the havoc he has caused in our lives, threatening our marriage and our finances and our sanity - I long for the moment when he lets his crazy formless body fall asleep against me. For a short while, I feel like a regular little boy's father. Sometimes I think this is his gift to me - but parcelled out, to show me how rare and valuable the gift is. Walker, my teacher, my sweet, sweet, lost and broken boy.

The Marlboro Marine

photographer: luis sinco

interactive video

l.a. times article (19.may.06)

_quote 1

It's an insane connection that you make with that person at that point. To see somebody in your sights and to pull that trigger, it's almost like you're there with them, seeing their life flash before their eyes.

_quote 2

DC was a slap in the face. I even had a congressman miss a meeting, and when I showed up at the office the assistant said he didn't have time to meet with a veteran. I didn't understand why a man with that type of job couldn't take five ten minutes out of his day to speak to someone who had fought for everything this country stands for.

_quote 3

To look back at it now and just think about holding a rifle, and firing at another human being, it's gut wrenching as well as, you know, brain wrecking. How do you justify it regardless of what your causes are or what their causes are?

The Ninth Floor

photographer: jessica dimmock

interactive video

_soundcheck: bob marley: kaya

indeed it is wednesday

_posted in new music wednesdays | 05 December 2007

title: CARNIVAL in yellow    photographer: daye rogers

bad religion: new maps of heaven
beirut: the flying club cap
damon albarn: mail music
kaki king: until we felt red
serj tankian: elect the dead
the mitchell brothers: dressed for the occasion
tupac shakur: the best of 2pac, parts I and II
wyclef jean: the carnival II: memoirs of an immigrant

_soundcheck: wyclef jean: the carnival II: memoirs of an immigrant

plans, schemes and other manner of distraction, meaning it's only ever about me...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 02 December 2007

i was in the middle of posting the new monday morning blues playlist when i realized i didn't love it. i mean the music is perfection but my ordering was off, some of the songs chosen were done so haphazardly while others were chosen with such care.

and i realized that the last few years has been a haphazard mix of consistency and inconsistency, more of the latter than the former. in the midst of it all there's always me, planning and scheming, distracting myself from actually doing. i do more planning than doing, it's as simple as that. the end of each year brings along the regrets and the blah blah blah. but the most important thing has always been the naming of the year: "the year of the foundation," "the summer of her celluloid self." and there have been others to be sure, i just can't recall them. sp is also guilty of this. i can't recall any of his declarations of year and season, but there have been a few. that kid is like my emotional doppelganger, except that doppelganger's are evil, harbingers of bad luck and seek to destroy. ok, doppelganger may be the wrong word. ah! as hubert sauper would say, he's an "intellectual mirror". much better.

anyway, i've decided there is no naming of 2008. it'll be what it is, another year. just one more year i try to get better. better at being consistent. better at loving the people i love. better at not being so quick and willing to dislike the people i don't care for. better at not being so hard on myself. and better at just enjoying it all. before i know it i'll be 98 with a room filled with family (i said family, not cats... dear god don't let it be cats- do me know if its just going to be me at the end with a bunch of fucking cats) trying to say everything i never said. no, im not getting all emotional and no, there will be no emails proclaiming emotions sent out tonight.

this is just me pumping myself up for my A-game, because 2008 knows exactly what im looking for this year. i only want to get be better by the time my bit of business is taken care of.

all that to say, no new monday morning blues... and of course there will be a declaration of "the year of...." in the next few weeks... i'd be cute and quirky if not for being strange and insane.

new music wednesday = language of the spirit

_posted in new music wednesdays | 28 November 2007

title: Venus and Mucusoara, Stefanesti     photographer: joakim eskildsen

there's a nice little mix here... there is a cute french girl who's a bit homicidal, a few irish singers who make me miss soft kisses... a french group that i love to dance to in my living room... and johnny cash... johnny cash you say? god please don't let him turn into tupac, a new album each year since he's dead and gone... and gypsy punks that take me back to previous life #23, romani.

ben harper: lifeline
damien rice: 9
gogol bordello: taranta!
hafdis huld: paper cut
johnny cash: the great lost performance
soko: not sokute
various artists: the cake sale
yelle: pop up

_soundcheck: curtis fuller: imagination

new music wednesday brought to you by the letters B, E and N

_posted in new music wednesdays | 21 November 2007

i've been wanting the trojan box set for some time and thanks to benji dreams can come true.

justice: +
metro area: metro area
roots radics/scientist/king tubby: in a dub explosion
scientist: introducing scientist
scientist: scientist rids the world of the evil curse of the vampires
trojan: chill out box set (1 - 3)
trojan: ska box set, volume 1

_soundcheck: cali stars: african mix

this monday morning blues = blues covers...

_posted in monday morning blues | 18 November 2007

listen.

this monday morning blues is centered around four songs. if you know me, then you know how much of a snob i can be about music and film. i have a profound distaste for covers unless they are exceptional. i hate film remakes and "reimagining", even more, unless the new version has injected the story with a new perspective. i get it, i completely understand that unless we remake things that subsequent generations will miss out on quality art.

having said that, i am completely fascinated by covers (and remakes). what i can't stand is sub par fair that is taken as original or even innovative. i like the white strips, but no their cover of death letter can not hold a candle to son house sitting in a chair with his steel guitar or johnny farmer putting it down like only an old blues man can. and i'm sure jack white would agree, but i fear that the majority of people listening to the white strips have no idea who son house is. my hope is that the white stripes is the gateway drug to some hard core blues.

the history of the blues is so dynamic that it's hard to say who actually created some of the earlier songs. these earlier songs came from the fields and front porches or the chain gang lines, passed down through generations. so many of the greats did the same song and made it unique and part of their signature sound. so some of them i don't consider covers so much as the natural evolution of the genre.

the covers i hate the most are marked with @@ <--- that's me rolling my eyes... annoyed that this cover exists.

Black Betty
Leadbelly
Nick Cave & The Bad Seed @@
Ram Jam @@

Crossroads
Robert Johnson
Cream @@
Derek & The Dominos / Eric Clapton @@
Elmore Jones

Death Letter
Son House
Ida Cox: Death Letter Blues
Johnny Farmer
Johnny Farmer / Organized Noize Remix
White Stripes
Muddy Waters: Burying Ground Blues
Robert Wilkins: Nashville Stonewall Blues
Blind Mctell Willie: On the Cooling Board

Stagger Lee - Stackolee - Stackerlee
I love that there's a billion spellings for this song.
Mississippi John Hurt
Woody Gutherie & Sonny Terry
16 Bama
Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson
Lucious Curtis & Willie Ford
Lloyd Price
Black Keys: Stack Shot Billy

if only...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 16 November 2007

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds driftin on by you know how I feel

Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And Im feeling good

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom in the tree you know how I feel

Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And Im feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, dont you know
Butterflies all havin fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
Thats what I mean

And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel

nina simone: feeling good