kirk...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 29 June 2007

is a big old wino... while chatting he declared

_quote

i love scotch. scotch scotch scotch

now this was after he admitted to actually buying small bottles of vodka to drink at his desk. which he was drinking at 9.30am. well, to be fair it's 12.30pm in atlanta, but i dont live in atlanta anymore, i live in los angeles. so in my world he's drinking at 9.30am.

i suggested he goes to AA, but he told me he'd only go if he was allowed to drink... or something to that effect...

winos make me itch...

_soundcheck: femi kuti, african shrine

on the rumba river

_posted in africa | film | music | 27 June 2007

if you're in los angeles, i suggest you take your lovely self over to the Mann Theater near the corner of Westwood and Linbrook on 28.June at 7pm to see On the Rumba River.

africa, music, film... three things that make for a happy daye. watch the trailer... watch an excerpt from the film. and i dare you to not sway in your seat.

it follows wendo kolosoy, the congeles rumba legend.

_soundcheck: john lee hooker: it serves you right to suffer

Heart of Light

_posted in africa | film | 27 June 2007

i just got an awesome email tonight that completely has me revved up.

jaime lauren, an anthropology student at UCLA, and fellow classmate from my documentary film class will be shooting a film in Zambia at 3 refugee camps. Please read the excerpt below about her project.

_information

Currently, I am in pre-production on Heart of Light, a documentary about refugees of the conflict in the Congo (which killed 3.8 million people).

In collaboration with UN Operating Partner FORGE, I will shoot this film at 3 refugee camps in Zambia this summer. Additionally, logistics-permitting, we will follow a refugee family on their emotional journey of repatriation to the Congo.

The extremely talented Director of Photography, Barney Broomfield signed on to the project. Barney is the son of cinematographer Joan Churchill and director Nick Broomfield, is gifted in his own right, and his films have aired on PBS and the BBC. Additionally, he has experience working all around the world, including 3 months in a refugee camp. We are thrilled to have him on board! Also, I met recently with the Director of Artist Relations at Amnesty International, who offered to help get the completed Heart of Light out to her 2 million members. I am confident that this, coupled with Barney's involvement, will ensure that Heart of Light has a wide-reaching humanitarian impact.

This project was recently honored with a grant from the Strauss Foundation. Nonetheless, in order to sponsor Barney's involvement (including airfare, in-country transportation, lodging, equipment, stipend, etc.), we still need to raise an additional $10,000 minimum by July 14. I simply cannot do this without your help!

Therefore, I am writing to ask if you might consider making a contribution to FORGE for Heart of Light. Your support would be immensely appreciated, and will play a key role in ensuring that this film has a wide-reaching impact. Also, as FORGE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, all contributions are 100% tax deductible. Finally, those supporting at amounts over $1000 will receive "very special thanks" in the credits.

_to donate

DONATE TO Heart of Light
Click on the orange button that says "donate now." Then, in the field that asks, "Is this donation to be attributed to certain FORGE project, please enter "Documentary -- Jamie Lauren"

_contacting Jaime

email: jamielauren2000@yahoo.com
phone: 310 770 1460

im extremely excited for jaime. she has all the right elements to make an amazing project come to life. please DONATE if you can. Five dollars isn't too small of an amount, no amount is too small of an amount. also, repost this on your blog if you want to help out, or your MYSPACE, FACEBOOK, or whatever social network you're a part of.

meeting the devil at the crossroads in the delta at midnight...

_posted in music | new music wednesdays | 27 June 2007

robert johnson is definitely on of the greatest bluesmen ever, not just in his time. the legend says he met the devil down at the crossroads on a midnight down in the mississippi delta to sell his soul for his skill on the guitar. its stuff of legend.

i opted for the old old school bluesmen, although i am a fan of muddy waters, bo diddley, elmore james and the rest of the electric guitar blues set, but theres something about a man and his acoustic guitar with that scratchy old school recording that make for some damn good blues listening. and its always nice to hear the original versions from the men who created them or in some cases work songs brought in from the fields and the chain gangs or from the front porches or old folk songs carried down through generations. i swear it makes me miss the south, particularly my great grandparents home in vidalia, georgia. yea, i said it vidalia, home of the sweet onions. my great grandmother was the queen of good old fashion southern cooking... how i miss those days of biscuits, rickety doors, turn of the century bed frames, bedpans (yea i said, the bathroom was through the greatgrandparents bedroom- so it was bedpans or holding it till the morning and the side room was detached from the house- so it was bedpans or holding it till the morning, get my point), gardens, ants in the back house, black and white photos of family long gone hanging on the walls, tales of mothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, cousins, etc who were slaves, and the smell of old age and wisdom.

these are some of my favorite old school bluesmen. there were so many to choose from, but i think i did good. i may create a monday morning blues category just cause monday is nothing but the blues... it has been proclaimed, monday morning blues playlist will begin the first monday in july.

blind willie johnson: dark was the night
john lee hooker: it serves you right to suffer
john lee hooker: plays and sings the blues
leadbelly: king of the 12-string guitar
robert johnson: complete recordings
skip james: devil got my woman
skip james: complete early recordings
son house: alan lomax library of congress

bush taxi mali: field recordings from mali
mokobe: mon afrique
gill landry: the ballad of lawless soirez
head like a kite: random portraits of the home movie
polyphonic spree: fragile army
the white strips: icky thump

thanks to antero for putting me on to the bush taxi mali... i want to have its babies. and topher im digging the polyphonic spree.

_soundcheck: usher: confessions

thus fucking africa!!

_posted in africa | 26 June 2007

it's literally killing me that i've yet to make a trip to africa. i've been listening to anything from the continent i can get my hands on, watching any film i can find by african filmmakers, reading all i can by african writers, researching countries on the west coast of the continent, checking out plane ticket prices to mail, senegal, burkina faso, south africa, et all. its a sad state of affairs.

we're planning on connecting with the family in panama this december, so im hoping i'll be more comfortable with foreign locals and filming.

anyway, i just came across the short that sunu gonera did in cape town. he's the same cat that did pride. i didnt see it and didnt realize he did it until recently. its his first major film and i hear its a solid movie, but im not sure how i feel about four screenwriters for a film.

gonera's first commercial, i believe, was a psa he did for the organization sports trust, called cricket. you may have to use an application like vlc to view the this movie, it didnt work for me in quicktime. anyway, check out his short. i think it's solid.

_soundcheck: anthony hamilton: southern comfort

if i were paid to surf the net i'd be a billionare by now...

_posted in art | design | film | photography | web | 24 June 2007

david cho helps to prove that facebook is way cooler than myspace.

_update: fixed the link and check out the comments on this work...

should be required for viewing for all the myspacers under 18.

im a huge fan of phil borges work... so its nice to see how he goes about connecting with people for those amazing images.

really cool photoshop brushes.

really interesting pictures and documentary about manufactured landscapes.

whoa! selfkiss is at the same time amazing, lovely and freakish. there's something about the idea of one's self being more attracted to it's physical than those around it.

little dolls does exactly what it sets out to do; freak you the fuck out.

"We asked for workers, but we got people."

_posted in africa | sunday morning news catch up | the world | 24 June 2007

on most sunday mornings i read news i may have missed during the week or just honestly didnt have time to get to... so i thought i should post the most interesting ones...

those who know me know im all about learning about what's going on in the world, the shit thats not on cnn and the rest of the 24hour crappers. charlie rose is my favorite interviewer... amy goodman is close behind... i love the new yorker and think it should be required reading for all americans regardless of your political lean... if there's anything that can teach staying power and in depth understanding of a subject, its a new yorker article... the norm is at least 9 pages for any article... and you do walk away a more informed citizen...

anyway.. on to the news...

Aborigines lose right to run their lands over child sex abuse scandal

full article

quote 1

"I'm absolutely disgusted by this patronising government control. Tying drinking with welfare payments is just disgusting. If they're going to do that, they're going to have to do that with every single person in Australia, not just black people."

In a World on the Move, a Tiny Land Strains to Cope

my introduction to amilcar cabral was the first time i saw chris marker's Sans Soleil

Full Article

Supplemental Video

quote 1

An estimated 200 million people live outside the country of their birth, and they help support a swath of the developing world as big if not bigger. Migrants sent home about $300 billion last year — nearly three times the world's foreign aid budgets combined. Those sums are building houses, educating children and seeding small businesses, and they have made migration central to discussions about how to help the global poor. A leading academic text calls this the "Age of Migration."

quote 2

Countries that want migrant muscle and brains also want more border control. Many of them see illegal migrants as a security threat, especially in a terrorist age, and worry that large-scale migration, even when legal, can undercut wages, require costly services and subject national identities to bonfires of religious and cultural conflict.

In Ethiopia, Fear and Cries of Army Brutality

Full Article

Supplemental Video

quote 1

In village after village, people said they had been brutalized by government troops. They described a widespread and longstanding reign of terror, with Ethiopian soldiers gang-raping women, burning down huts and killing civilians at will.

quote 2

It is the same military that the American government helps train and equip - and provides with prized intelligence.

The Possessed

Full Article

quote 1

"In general, anything that is patrimony of the cultures of the world, whether in museums in Asia or Europe or the United States, came to be there during the times when our governments were weak and the laws were weak, or during the Roman conquest or our conquest by the Spanish. Now that the world is more civilized, these countries should reflect on this issue. It saddens us Peruvians to go to museums abroad and see a Paracas textile. I am hopeful that in the future all the cultural patrimony of the world will return to its country of origin."

quote 2

Because she is of European origin, she was derided by her many enemies as la gringa and dismissed as the particular sort of gringa who latches onto indigenous styles in a sentimental and condescending way.

Incredible Eddie

Full Article

quote 1

"I gave up caring about my career $80m ago."

Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins: "We Have Created the World's First Truly Global Empire"

Full Article

quote 1

I can make sure that this man makes a great deal of money, he and his family, through contracts, through various quasi-legal means, and I can also- if he doesn't accept this, you know, the same thing is going to happen to him that happened to Jaime Roldos in Ecuador and Omar Torrijos in Panama and Allende in Chile, and we tried to do it to Chavez in Venezuela and are still trying - that we will send in the people to try to overthrow him, as, in fact, we recently did with the President of Ecuador, or if we don't overthrow him, we'll assassinate him.

_soundcheck: mokobe: mon afrique

"binary solo"

_posted in tv | 23 June 2007

oh. my. god. i. am. in. love.

the flight of the conchords is amazing! i can't even explain how awesome this show is and how amazing bret and jemaine are...

the song is humans are dead and they dress up in grey boxes with function knobs made out plastic tops from jars or something...

and jemaine says, "binary solo" and bret starts singing "0000001000000111..." omg! that is pure fucking genius... i want to have flight of the conchords babies...

i have found the weekly show i've been looking for since deadwood left me... those cocksuckers...

watch the first episode... and hang out for the whole robot video... its at 26:48 minutes.

i also love the bowie song... and albi the racist dragon... something for the ladies... i cant get enough of these guys...

"farewell dana"

_posted in dayedayerocks | 22 June 2007

this morning i woke up to read an email from my boss about his daughter passing. she's been suffering through cancer for sometime now. every few days or so, he would send us updated emails about her condition, or he and i would have little conversations here and there about her. he's one of those guys you instantly like because of his laid back nature, his intelligence and his geek-ridden humor.

i never really got to know his daughter but i knew she loved fraggle rock, harry potter, monty python and all the other things that make her an awesome geek girl. basically all the things i like as well. she was 33 years. she was an only child. and im sure that she was just as cool as her father is, just as intelligent and just as laid back...

i instantly called my grandmother this morning because she puts these things into perspective, helps me through death and makes me feel safe because she's still with me. today is going to be a hard day, but its nothing compared to what dana's parents and family are going through.

to put it into prospective, dana was at one time a research assistant at nasa's mars exploration program.

_a father's email about his daughter

At 4:45 am, PST, as the Earth rotated into June 22, 2007 and began its revolution away from the summer and toward the autumnal equinox, another ray of light was redirected from the planet's surface toward the skies. Be home again with your stars, Dana.

me being me, the text messages and emails to friends back home will start soon, telling them how much they mean to me, how much i miss them, how much i appreciate them. it sucks that it takes death to be comfortable saying these things to people you should say anyway.

"for god and country"

_posted in dayedayerocks | film | 20 June 2007

yesterday i went up to the school im working on my documentary to drop off some permission forms for students to have signed.

and while there one of the jrotc instructors said i was doing "a great thing, for god and country." how amazingly uncomfortable did that make me. i had to leave. i didnt have anything to say after that. it's a bit too much. i mean im going to be fair but im not trying to create a promotional piece of the jrotc. my personal views on the subject are my personal views, but my whole objective is to present people with details they may not know from both the instructors and the teachers, but most importantly the students.

i don't know. i just felt really weirded out yesterday. i went home and couldnt get it out of my head and that made for a unproductive day.

_soundcheck: various artists: african playground

new music wednesday

_posted in music | new music wednesdays | 20 June 2007

i use to watch the tv show, xica da silva, even though i didnt understand one word of it... i found it really interesting, as i find most of the telenovellas. i was delighted to find the song xica da silva, on the brazil '70s compilation disc, sung by none other than miriam makeba, mama africa. she's been one of my favorites since my introduction to south africa... she may have been the first african artist that i was aware of... thanks to antero for putting me on to hallelujah chicken run, cause shit if that's not the best name for a band... theres a nice little mix again this week... i think next week will be all about the blues... cause i've been really tired and blue for some reason... it could be the heat or the downtime... but whatever it is ive yawned about 30 times in the last hour... and all i want to sleep for the whole summer...

berg sans nipple: form of
berg sans nipple: life if (in four parts)
francisco aquabella: hitting hard
hallelujah chicken run band: take one
imitation electric piano: blow it up burn it down kick it 'til it bleeds
imitation electric piano: trinity neon
john legend: once again
miriam makeba: pata pata live in paris
the shins: wincing the night away
various artists: african playground
various artists: brazil 70s 10 samba funk bossa nova tracks
madlib: the other side los angeles

_soundcheck: john legend: once again

a god amongst men...

_posted in design | 15 June 2007

i dont own any of his books, but ive borrowed from those who do... i havent seen him speak but im constantly at his site...

i love that he hates powerpoint, that he has a page on his site dedicated to dogs, babies, and the like... ive always wanted the "historic visual diary of spaceflight" poster hanging on my wall...

great article about edward tufte in new york magazine; the minister of information.

_soundcheck: the gossip: movement

"you're afraid to bleed..."

_posted in dayedayerocks | words | 14 June 2007

im not sure what's going on with me today, i seem to be really fragile for some reason. i havent even talked to anyone face to face today and im a bit unnerved. im not sure why. today im showing a very short piece from my documentary for my final and that could be way, im a bundle of nerves. but i havent thought about that this morning, but everything else. i don't know. i think since finals week is over i have time to take a break and then start assessing things, which is always a bad idea. i think thats why i run on empty, that whole object in motion stays in motion thing.

anyway... ive been listening to malcolm x this morning and mos def doing malcolm x. i love mos def but im always annoyed by his mumbling, but he gets his groove and sounds more like malcolm as he progresses.

i really dont know where im going with this, but it is what it is. i've always found inspiration in people like malcolm, concepts of struggle and change; revolution. not that "fantasy of revolution" that tony kushner mentioned, but what malcolm calls a bloody revolution. maybe im going through my personal revolution. maybe thats my point. i was talking to my girl buffi (yes, her name is buffi and she's fucking punk rock!) and she's at that stage where its either play hard or go home. it's either 100% or its nothing. there cant be anymore half-assing. and coming from her, who's a fucking superstar to me, thats for real.

i think we should all have a rocking day today. it's been declared. today is a rocking day! i'll be in class from 9.30am - 6pm, then its off to my perfect sofa, a shoot of whiskey or a nice homemade margarita and my list of movies that i need to catch up on.

have a great day party people... play hard or go home...

no new music wednesday this week

_posted in new music wednesdays | 13 June 2007

sorry... its finals week and im swamped... next week will be most awesome... oh yes, yes it will...

hugs and kisses, monkeys...

"what did you learn in school today?"

_posted in the world | 13 June 2007

ralph nader's dad asked him, "what did you learn in school today? did you learn how to believe or did you learn how to think?"

what a parent he must have been to ask a child of 10 years old such a question, in the 1940s no less, during the second world war. in a country that did extraordinary things, a few bad ones, as well as fostered a culture of fear and hatred. they don't call it the cold war for nothing...

i wonder today how many parents are asking their kids the same type of question. are we blindly leading the next generation of american kids to believe in america and our fight against terrorism, believe that immigrants are stealing jobs from hard working americans, believe that war is a viable answer to all the worlds woes, believe that you should vote your religion and/or your pocketbook, believe that your success and access to education is available to everyone?

or are we teaching them to be critical thinkers, thinkers who want to truly question the fact that we live in a country filled with potential, unrealized potential, and why that is... question the possibility that the war on terror is a construct, an abstract created to sum up something that is beyond summation... question why a country built on the back of immigrants, mine and your parents, grandparents or great grandparents, etc. would shut there doors to so many... question themselves and their worldview (or lack of worldview) and become informed voters, not just voting for what is best for their pocketbook, their religion, their state, or even for america, but for what will change the world... question that maybe their circumstance is not the norm and that they do have a social responsibility to make sure everyone else is afforded the same opportunities.

i can only hope when i have kids i can leave them a little something to pass on to someone else... the desire to question it all, and it will no doubt guide them to the making of a good person.

update: hungry planet

_posted in photography | the world | 12 June 2007

found a link to more photos about what the world eats mentioned in a previous post.

also, a coworker linked me to a map that shows each state in the US' GDP in relation to countries around the world. its staggering! we have the highest GDP in the world, but to see it broken down like this is just something to think about...

_quote

The creator of this map has had the interesting idea to break down that gigantic US GDP into the GDPs of individual states, and compare those to other countries' GDP. What follows, is this slightly misleading map - misleading, because the economies both of the US states and of the countries they are compared with are not weighted for their respective populations.

Pakistan, for example, has a GDP that's slightly higher than Israel's - but Pakistan has a population of about 170 million, while Israel is only 7 million people strong. The US states those economies are compared with (Arkansas and Oregon, respectively) are much closer to each other in population: 2,7 million and 3,4 million.

common... not even...

_posted in music | 12 June 2007

yes i am very excited about the new common album, finding forever... if there is one hip hop artist that i will always be down for... him and the outkast, no doubt...

_quote 1

if rap was harlem, id be james baldwin...

_quote 2

your career is a typo mine is written like a haiku

_soundcheck: common: like water for chocolate

so many questions

_posted in film | 12 June 2007

so last night antero told me about crispin glover's new film that features all actors with down syndrome. ok, that instantly made me think of corky from life goes on... cause honestly thats the only well known actor with down syndrome i can recall.

so i watched this trailer and just felt like it was wrong. am i wrong? i mean i would love to see more people with various disabilities, is that the right word, in movies. but i don't know if i want to see them in this kind of movie. i'd like to see them in movies as we see everyone else, as people dealing with life and issues, not just their disability. and i ask if disabilities is the right word, cause well its all so confusing to me. while looking up the details of down syndrome, cause honestly i just knew there was an extra 21st chromosome, i was enthralled by the physical and social differences, and why they occur. and one difference cited was "mental retardation," which i think is such a fucking horrible and mean word. is that because the connotation of the word, has devalued the denotation of it? it probably is the case, but at times i find myself trying to figure out the right way, not the politically correct way, but the right way to describe such things. i don't believe in political correctness, as i believe in just being honest and decent in how you describe and deal with people.

im one of those chicks that wants a large family, lots of kids running around making noise and giving me hugs at the end of a long day, or even in the middle of the day just cause. so i instantly started to think about what it must be like for parents who are caring for kids with disabilities. it's hard enough raising a human being, but with the added physical or mental challenges it must be a complete trail by fire.

_soundcheck: common: finding forever

denzel... oh yes... yes indeed...

_posted in film | 11 June 2007

this morning i awoke to a nice little treat. denzel washington! ridley scott! and russel crowe! chiwetel ejiofor! in the same movie...

and let me tell you, denzel is looking fucking fierce!!!!! something about denzel and that walk that just.... dear lord... i almost fainted watching the trailer... and there are a gang of negros in seventies style flair that just makes me randy.

the movie is american gangster, based on frank lucas' raise to criminal and political fame in harlem. it reminds me of black ceasar movies, with fred williamson. dear lord another man that just completely wears his style hardcore.

i have the feeling this movie is going to be a hardcore ride. great dialogue and tension between denzel and crowe. ridley scott is one of my favorite directors, so i think its going to be a fucking good movie... any man who can go from alien to blade runner to legend to thelma & louise is alright in my book. he's also producing a tv mini series based on one of my favorite old school scifi movies; the andromeda strain. michael crichton is michael crichton for a reason. i love this film as much as i love the book.

i like that common, rza and ti are in the film, although im not a fan of ti's music. it is nice, however, to see some good acting coming out of hip hop artists, especially when we're saddled with ice cube, ice-t, ll cool j and the other lames.

but another brother that does it for me, after denzel of course is chiwetel ejiofor. yea, im moving to the uk to be closer to this man. dear lord. this movie is deep with great actors and a director that knows how to tell hard stories. so im hoping it will live up to my high expectations.

_soundcheck: miriam makeba: pata pata

digital kitchen

_posted in art | 09 June 2007

digital kitchen has some great work. i first took notice when i saw the title sequence for six feet under. they've complete a new project i absolutely love... designer slash model...

enjoy...

kids + money in los angeles

_posted in los angeles | 09 June 2007

really nice piece from lauren greenfield its all about kids and money in los angeles. it seems to cover the spectrum based on what i've seen of la and the various kids i've met. some of these kid are very preceptive and have a great deal of insight concerning their access to money and for some the lack of access. some of these kids just made me sad that they will be adults some day that think in a very skewed american materialism way. that they'll be more concerned with what they are driving than about what's in their heads and hearts.

i'm a serious fan of lauren greenfield's work. her photography and documentaries are very much about young women. i have a coworker who doesnt believe that the images in the media have a serious affect on young girls, that these girls should know that britney and the rest arent something to look up to. that's easier said than done and when was the last time you met a 13 year old who could rationally navigate through the dangeours tarrain of sexuality and body image they see every single day without some guidance from an adult.

greenfield's documentary thin is a very honest film about girls and their seriously skewed body image. after watching it i just so depressed about these girls and how they've found their way into such a bad place in their head. it's saddens me that we allow girls to think they should be a certain way, while any other option is the wrong option. i knew greenfield first as a photographer and thought her pieces on the "girl culture" were great. a very eye opening piece. i can only say i hope that when i have a daughter i can help her navigate all the bullshit that's pushed onto girls very early in their development.

hipster hell

_posted in los angeles | music | 09 June 2007

last night at the ima robot show i observed some of the worst examples of hipster known to man... los angeles style hipster... as autumn put it, "the only thing a guy is allowed to wear to a concert is a tshirt and/or hoody and a pair of jeans, none of the bullshit im seeing right now." here here sister!

there were a gaggle of girls with headbands, short short tennis shorts and banded socks that came up to just below the knees and wristbands. basically they looked like old school bjorn borg.. i wanted to piss on them...

there were too many guys with bandannas around their necks or covering the bottom half of their face. do you own a horse? or colt 45? are you a bankrobber from circa turn of the century? NO!? then dont fucking ever do that again... oh and a few threw in fedoras to make it just right...

if you wear shorts or a skirt that stops just below your point of entry, then i consider you a complete whorebag... thats just my take on it all...

and no i dont like going to concerts with 12 year olds or maybe they were 17 i dont know. they were all so short. and no im not interested in how long you and your sleazy looking girlfriend can make out, cause it actually made me want to throw up that you kissed for 15 minutes (yes i timed it) nonstop. thats fucking nasty.

_soundcheck: ima robot: ima robot

best line ever...

_posted in art | dayedayerocks | 08 June 2007

when i saw tony kushner awhile ago at melnitz he was asked who he would like to see be president in 2008 and he went on about a few things and then said, we've lost what we had in the 60s and its been replaced by "the fantasy of anarchy and revolution."

"the fantasy of anarchy and revolution." how amazingly perfect is that line?

_soundcheck: wilco: sky blue sky

tipping the point...

_posted in education | news | the world | 08 June 2007

malcolm gladwell talking about genius

malcolm gladwell talks about genius at a new yorker conference. he starts off by suggesting that we "abandon our romantic notions of the importance of genius." that even within genius and its three steps; obsession, isolation and insight, there are two types of genius; premodern and modern. michael ventris is his example of premodern genius while andrew wiles is a "modern genius and problem solver we need now and in the future."

ventris is an ametur who has a gift who mastered a subject. he takes a huge amount of acquired knowledge and solves an unsolvable problem. he sequestered himself to achieve his goal.

wiles' insight is seen as modern since he has a social approach in his knowledge seeking. for ten years he focuses on this problem, researching other mathematicians and the collaborating with those working on various theorems. his approach is about "effort and training" and educating himself.

gladwell goes on to talk about the ten thousand hours rule which more or less means it would take about 10 years to obtain the special expertise to master a field. it really puts things into perspective. the process has always interested me when i come across the work of my favorite filmmakers, artists and writers. i always wonder how much time and effort it took for them to get to their present state, to master their craft.

he again uses wiles as the best example of genius and what makes him unique is his "willingness to set everything aside and focus on one specific problem." to find collaborators to reach his end goal. the one genius vs. thirteen smart guy problem; quantity over quality. a large number of smart people will solve a problem more easily than one genius. modern problems require persistence and stubbornness.

"are we actually selecting people for stubbornness?" are we taking the potential to do something vs. those who actually do something seriously?

gladwell touches on education and how we as a culture see genius. when thinking about our schools, we do push that idea and competitive nature of those high above the curve while leaving the majority behind. i remember high school being exactly like that. there were some of us treated really well due to our gpa and accomplishments, while the others were barely paid attention to, barely seen as viable; students or future problem solvers. it's the same at the university level as well.

when we begin realizing that educating a large number of people to be those stubborn problem solvers; to educate themselves in order to solve our various problems, to become social (collaborative) thinkers, we could actually find answers to a lot of our woes.

_soundcheck:andy palacio & the garifuna collective: watina

the material world

_posted in africa | photography | the world | 06 June 2007

recently while at manual arts high school i came across these amazing photographs of people's homes, turned inside out. im really late finding out about them, but i thought the concept and the images are just profound. nova has a site dedicated to "the world in balance," and the material world is featured. seriously take some time to read through "the world in balance," there's a lot of great information and stories there.

_quote

His resulting book, Material World, offers extraordinary images of families in front of their dwellings with all (or nearly all) of their possessions. Experts at the United Nations and World Bank helped determine the criteria for average families according to location (urban, rural, suburban, small town, or village), type of dwelling, family size, annual income, occupation, and religion. Here, we present five of the photographs Menzel and his team produced, along with updated statistical data for each country.

the photographs and ideas are that of peter menzel. i never knew about menzel's books but i've seen a few of his images over the years and never thought to look him up... i enjoy photography for the sake of art, but i love when photography (film, literature, any art for that matter) puts a mirror or even a different lense of how we see the world. if you can find a great balance between commerce and your passion, then you're alright in my book.

he's extraordinary in taking basic everyday activities and making you think beyond your own experience. his exploration on the economic divide; the haves and the have-nots is very honest. there is a huge disparity in material wealth the world over, but he creates no victims in his images, he gives you the honest truth of people's situations, for better or worse.

the images below are a great example of the genius of his work. the first image is one week's worth of food for a family in nunavut, canada, while the second image is that of a darfur family at a refugee camp in chad. i was dumbfounded by this comparison. these images are part of his latest book, hungry planet: what the world eats.

npr has interviews with menzel and d'aluisio (co-author) about the material world and hungry planet books. great thing about the npr interview is a complete cost breakdown for one week's worth of food. the interviews are very interesting as well.

i think the reason i find menzel's images so amazing is because of the process he goes through in creating them. working on my documentary in the last few months has been hard to say the least; working and school, while trying to get that done at the same time, but can you image putting your life on hold, in order to make a mark the only way you know how, with your camera and your ideas. i can only hope to get to that point, sooner than later, no doubt.

_soundcheck: andy palacio & the garifuna collective: watina

new music wednesday

_posted in new music wednesdays | 06 June 2007

i think there's a nice mix of things going on this week... i was happy to see that midnite has a few new albums, actually i was more than happy... let's just say i take my time getting to work in the morning so i can enjoy the music...

i have no idea what the hell is going on in west africa, but damned if mali, the congo, senegal, niger, nigeria, benin, libya, burkina faso and sierra leone are just blowing me away musically. this music is so feeding my soul right now...

afel bocoum et alkibar: niger
ali farka toure & toumani diabate: in the heart of the moon
andy palacio & the garifuna collective: watina
antibalas: who is this america
carina round: disconnection
giant drag: hearts and unicorns
lonely dear: sologne
midnite & groundbreaking collaboration: aneed
midnite & i grade collaboration: rule the time
midnite: scheme a things
midnite: suns of atom
the sea and cake: everybody
toumani diabate & ballake sissoko: new ancient strings
voxtrot
wilco: sky blue sky

_soundcheck: afel bocoum et alkibar: niger

gregory makes me want to be in love...

_posted in dayedayerocks | music | 05 June 2007

oh how amazing was gregory isaacs last night... i danced... i drank... i... well... you know what else i did...

talk about smooth... talk about the "cool ruler." hell yes he is... almost 60 and straight pimped it... fly pink shirt half tucked in, under a blazer and an NY cap pimped to the side... man only west indian men can pull that off... just so smooth and just so much style... something about that 1970s west indian look that just screams sex appeal... it was nice hearing some patios last night... made me homesick!

man... talk about lovers rock and baby making music... gregory is the man...

on another note... coworker linked me to the awesomest cards...

_soundcheck: gregory issacs: RAS Portraits

and the headaches starts...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 03 June 2007

i'm noshing on mango merlot ice cream (thats right! from scoops), thinking about a paper that should have been done last month, that i think is due tomorrow.

im such a creature of bad habits. i think i should definitely be either doing my paper or editing. but im eating ice cream, watching alien nation (the movie) and suffering through a fucking horrible headache. i havent really had that many headaches in the last few months, but they are so getting back at me for ignoring them.

i took three naps this morning well before 11am. THREE NAPS! meaning I got up at 5am and made it to 7am, then was knocked out again... and then again... and then again...

usually when im this tired im either getting sick or im just ready to lay fucking flat like a folding chair. well we'll see what happens after a few weeks...

_soundcheck: afel bocoum et alkibar: niger

just for you...

_posted in dayedayerocks | 01 June 2007