over the river and through the woods...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 30 June 2006

im on my way to run a few last minute errands before i head to lax to pick up the family... everyone have a happy "world imperialist day."

this is what i do darling...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 26 June 2006

i was suppose to go see a total of six movies this weekend as part of the l.a. film festival, but on saturday i had the opportunity to do some more filming for my documentary... its good to know that my art supersedes that of herzog... i was hoping to catch his new doc, but i made the right decision... i got home around 6pm or so and realized i wasnt going to move from my most awesome sofa for the rest of the night...

i woke up sunday morning knowing i wouldnt leave the house... so much for the four films i planned... instead i spent the last quite sunday i will have to myself until july 30th. wow... for a creature that craves my alone time as much as i crave interaction with the masses, its going to be challenging... but damn if its not going to be a great three weeks with the old ones...

on another note... congotronics baby! thought i'd pass this video on from konono n°1, which i absolutely heart madly and deeply! thus africa, baby...

_soundcheck: konono n°1, congotronics

and the countdown begins

_posted in dayedayerocks | 23 June 2006

in exactly one week my family will be in los angeles!

when i was living in atlanta, when my family came to visit, they always stayed with my mother (who had a house) or with my sister (who also had a house)... i still dont have a house, but they are coming all this way just to see me... which makes for a great vacation i think... my grandmother, her brother (my favorite uncle) and her sister (my favorite auntie) will be hanging out with me for THREE WEEKS... im sure by the end of the first week im going to be so ready for them to go home... not really... if there are any the three people i enjoy sitting around the house chatting and enjoying life with, those three would be it...

i see domino games that last for hours! playing sequence and laughing at my da trying to cheat (although she says she doesnt cheat)! my cool ass uncle dancing every time he hears music! and my auntie constantly making wonderful drinks!

let the good times begin!

new music wednesdays

_posted in new music wednesdays | 21 June 2006

gina k. put me on to wolf parade and oh how i heart them... the knife has a new joint out, silent shout... and ever since i saw the video for pass this on i have loved them deeply and madly... this week (and it's only wednesday people) has been one fuck up after the next at work (which unfortunately seems to be the standard not the exception)... so in times of stress we turn our head to music or movies... and thank goodness for that lovely thing called music...

by the way, just in case i haven't told you, "you are the sharpest knife, you are the finest blade, you are the shining sun, everybody's in your shade."

b. fleischmann: the humbucking coil
broken social scene: broken social scene
dimlite: runbox weathers
the knife: silent shout
lily allen: alright still
loka: fire shepherds
vashti bunyan: lookaftering
wolf parade: apologies to queen mary

_soundcheck: fela, black president

quotes from tarkovsky

_posted in film | words | 21 June 2006

a few months ago while hubert sauper was speaking in my documentary class, he mentioned that tarkovsky was a huge influence for him, especially "sculpting in time." i knew of the book but never took the time to read it and shame on me... here are some random quotes from the book that i absolutely adore and felt compelled to share...

_quote 1

A vast number of cliches and commonplaces, nurtured by centuries of theatre, have unfortunately also found a resting-place in the cinema.

_quote 2

Masterpieces are born of the artist's struggle to express his ethical ideals.

_quote 3

In my childhood my mother suggested I read War and Peace for the first time, and for many years afterwards she would often quote from the novel, pointing out to me the subtly and the detail of Tolstoy's prose. War and Peace thus became for me a kind of school of art, a criterion of taste and artistic depth; after that it was no longer possible to read trash; it would give me an acute feeling of distaste.

_quote 4

An artist who has no faith is like a painter who was born blind.

_quote 5

The allotted function of art is not, as is often assumed, to put across ideas, to propagate thoughts, to serve as example. The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good.

_quote 6

The time in which a person lives gives him the opportunity of knowing himself as a moral being, engaged in the search for the truth; yet this gift which man has in his hands is at once delectable and bitter.

_quote 7

The artist has a duty to be calm. He has no right to show his emotion, his involvement, to go pouring it all out at the audience. Any excitement over a subject must be sublimated into an Olympian calm of form. That is the only way in which an artist can tell of the things that excite him.

_quote 8

The first thing to describe is the event, not your attitude to it.

_quote 9

Nothing can be more meaningless than the word 'search' applied to a work of art. It covers impotence, inner emptiness, lack of true creative consciousness, petty vainglory. 'An artist who is seeking' -- these words are merely the cover for a middle-brow acceptance of inferior work. Art is not science, one can't start experimenting. When an experiment remains on the level of experiment, and not a stage in the process of producing the finished work which the artist went through in private-- then the aim of art has not been attained.

_quote 10

I like the story of Picasso, who when asked about his 'search' replied wittily and pertinently (clearly irritated by the question): 'I don't seek, I find.'

_soundcheck: b.fleischmann, the humbucking coil

happy refugee day

_posted in africa | dayedayerocks | film | photography | the world | 20 June 2006

today is national refugee day*. of course it makes me think of many things and people, but something that stands out for me is my friend nesanet's story... she's originally from ethopia and awhile ago should told me about her family having to trek to sudan, to a camp, a refugee camp. they were refugees. as much as i pride myself on being aware of the world; the injustices, the cruelty, the need for checks and balances not just for governments, but organizations (like the wto and imf) as well corporate entities, i've been pulled in so many directions that i've not done as much as im sure im capable of doing at this time, in this place. and even though "[insert-social-ill-here] day" is something that i'm sure is meant to evoke some sort of reaction, i find the concept lacking and just another fucking thing we do to make ourselves feel good... "i observed blah-blah-blah day."

_*

me : happy world rufugee day
sp : yeah
sp: i saw that
sp: wieeerd
sp: guess it's logical
me: yea a friend of mine lived in a rufegee camp with her fam when she was younger
sp: you regulate everything else to a single day
me: walking from ethopia to sudan
sp: like love and respect and etc
sp: no shit
sp: that's hardcore
me: indeed... fucking culture of those in control
me: **** day
me: we're so stupid that we cant see further than... world aids day... worlds rufugee day... world imperialist day...
sp: lol
sp: world imperialist day
sp: awesome
sp: that should totally be a holiday
me: it is... 4th of july
sp: that doesn't have the same ring to it
me: hehehe
me: indeed it does not... i think initially we were meant to be a shining beacon of blah blah blah
me: there are no shining beacons... and i wish people would admit to it... and stop acting like america, britain, or any other western country has all the answers...
me: fucked up fuckers that we are
sp: very true
sp: speaking of beacons, i loved that klimt story
sp: that's awesome
sp: surpassing picasso
me: yea im gonna go see it on next week...
sp: very outstanding

the skirball has a photography exhibit by michal ronnen sarfdie, rwanda: after, darfur: now now showing... to coincide with this exhibit they are showing the documentary, refugee allstars as well as a live performance by the band. the band is comprised of six sierra leonean musicians who met while in refugee camps in the republic of guinea.

being very interested in design and how design plays a HUGE role in social issues, i found these gems to be worth mentioning...

the refugee radio created by mareike gast, german designer, who worked at Freeplay. you can buy a radio (for $55) and it will be shipped to a community in need... a few of these have taken the place of a few items on my "must buy list," let's be honest half the shit on my "must buy list" isnt even worth looking at, let alone buying....

came across vestal design a while back and thought they are doing some really great things... one of their ideas, The SHRIMP (Sustainable Housing for Refugees via Mass Production), refugee housing....

a refugee camp in the heart of the city... i really wish this was going to be los angeles... check out the pictures... this will be in atlanta in september... i suggest those of you at home check it out!

_in other news...

i had this meeting with a friend concerning some business opportunities and it seems i was something of an oddity for him, since my goal wasn't to make money with my various ventures, but to establish community and/or community-minded organizations and goals. he says in business school you are taught to "go for the kill" monetarily speaking, the way of the business jungle and all that... i figure along the way money will find its way in my pocket and ill live more comfortably than i do at present. its already a sad state of affairs when money (lack thereof) is the determining factor for so many of my decisions, can you see it being the determining factor for my goals and behavior if it were to be in abundance. i can see myself being one of those many people (look to hollywood) whose reality is a construct of their own making. right now its a moot point even thinking about this since im as poor as a church mouse. but, as of late ive been concerned about my responsibilities as an individual and how little things have the ability of pushing my focus from here to there... although my fundamental belief structures are sound, i can at times, easily be pulled away from my responsibilities.

it's ten days into my summer and i've not done much. i have filmed a lot and gotten maybe 4 more hours of footage which is great, but damn if im not as focused as i should be for someone excited about finally working on her documentary. there's been too much drinking and too many distractions (making up for a semester of good behavior) and me being the extrovert i tend to be, too much wanting to hang out, when sitting at home working would benefit me more.

_soundcheck: wolf parade, apologies to queen mary

flashy goodness

_posted in web | 16 June 2006

just some flashy goodness to move us into the weekend...

first there's the victim, who turns the tables on the creator...

and what's more summer than half naked girls you can control with a click of the mouse...

_soundcheck: groundation, each one teach one

new music wednesdays

_posted in new music wednesdays | 14 June 2006

any album that starts of with a song entitled fuck the pain away, with the first line starting with,

sucking on my tities like you wanted me
calling me, all the time like Blondie...

is a sure fired staple in my mixed bag of music... my buddy drew has the talent for passing on some of the most hate it or love it music... there is no room for the in between... word is ms. peaches was a teacher of the young... knowing teachers myself, i absolutely believe this completely insane, wonderfully awesome chick was a teacher and the youth in canadaland were made better for it...

i was happy to find out that cassandra wilson is back with some great music... can you say crush, cause yea im still crushing on her after all these years... make me a poet, baby...

alexi murdoch: time without consequence
peaches: the teaches of peaches
various artists: gravikords whirlies & pyrophones
josh rouse: subtitulo
josh rouse: nashville
psapp: the only thing i ever wanted
cassandra wilson: thunderbird

_soundcheck: fela, black president

earthly delights

_posted in dayedayerocks | 12 June 2006

the summer has begun! i've been waiting on the summer for some weeks now and you cant even fathom how amazingly awesome it is right now, to know i dont have to go to class on tuesday and thursday from 4pm - 7pm, or wednesday nights from 6.45-10pm and most importantly on saturday mornings from 9am - 1pm (although i loved that class; prof is SMART and HOT... talk about crushing on your teacher)...

anyway... i hung out with the guys this weekend and man those monkeys make l.a. feel like home... peruvian food, earthly delights, and drinks make for an amazing saturday night...

below is an email antero felt compelled to send to trivial pursuit from my email account mind you...

_antero's letter to trivial pursuit

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently engaged in an evening of entertainment with "the most popular trivia game in the world." As we struggled to answer the various challenging questions, I noticed a frightening problem. As we went through the questions, Celine Dion - the vixen, pop singer, and wife to that old ugly guy - continued to recur in both the answers and in the questions. One question circulated around Dion's engagement at the Cesear's Palace in Las Vegas (a rather shoddy show considering Dion's 600 show contract)while another question was in regards to Andrea Boccelli's collaboration on an album (what's the deal? just because Stevie can do it doesn't mean just any blind guy has a nice set of pipes... if you know what I'm saying).

Though our game was prematurely aborted due to circumstances involving the six fingered count from the Princess Bride, anurge for ice cream, a hooka, and a lot of [censored], I'm sure we would have encountered other Dion clues had we continued our game. Don't think that your guerilla marketing campaign has gone unnoticed. I am outraged by these kinds of shiesty shenanigans. As a member of the free world and as an american citizen, I realize that my entertainment cannot go unfettered with advertising minutia in this day and age. However, I would hope for something a bit less frivolous - "trivial" shall we say - than fucking Dion.

I am hoping that all Dion related clues can be excised immediately from all future editions of Trivial Pursuit and would hope that you would also consider a recall of current games.

Thank you for your time, Antero David Garcia

i'm really rallying for an amazing summer, not just for me but for us all... my to do list is hot and heavy... bought tons of tickets to screenings at this year's l.a. film festival... planning for the trip up the coast with the family in july... painting the apartment... and tonight is dj dangermouse at the hammer... and of course, get back to filming for my doc, starting this wednesday first shot of the summer... so summer of '06 has hereby been dubbed "the summer of her celluloid self"... more on that later... and of course regular posting again on calistars...

hugs and kisses monkeys...

_soundcheck: alexi murdoch, time without consequence

"it's not happening here but it's happening now"

_posted in art | the world | 07 June 2006

great execution... notice that in the first image that child is in front of a FULLY STOCKED GROCERY STORE!!! thats powerful! Walker Werbeagentur Zuerich created some amazingly provocative pieces for Amnesty International.

its hot!

_posted in dayedayerocks | 04 June 2006

yea i know... been really busy... studying for finals... just wanted to say its HOT! yea the last week or so has been a broiler... not like south georgia hot, but hot none the less... and all you can do on these days is take a cold shower with the ac (not central air mind you, a window unit) on full blast... that way you'll be comfortable for a few hours...