_posted in dayedayerocks | film | ingredients for life | the world | versus | 02 February 2011
Erzilie Danto artist credit: yves telemak
This post is a response Support Lwa and Create Dangerously, which is the start of a new Versus with Antero.
I'm so excited that Antero and I have rebooted "Versus." First, thanks to Antero for linking to the Kickstarter video for my latest short film, "Lwa." I'm excited to be working on a film that marries my anthropological interests with filmmaking. I'm equally excited that Danticat's latest text is about creating within the immigrant framework, within the framework of people who stand in multiple lands, products of the diaspora.
Antero and I seemed to have connected to "Create Dangerously", simultaneously. Both of us were instantly drawn to this work and for me it's a continuation of my love of Danticat's calm and expressive voice. It's taken me a few days to go back to the first two chapters. I wanted to give myself some distance, let my interpretations sit for awhile and just let my daily experiences as an artist add a bit of texture since the initial reading. Over the years I've read and reread many titles, paying close attention to notes I made in the margins, expressing the beauty of a phrase or my confusion or lack of understanding for a theme. What's most important about these margin notes is how I've changed over the years. There have been many moments when I laughed out loud and openly mocked my younger and inexperienced self. It's always nice to have written proof that your experiences color how you see the world and yourself.
In the second chapter, "Walk Straight", Danticat gives us so much more than margin notes. She gives us a whole letter to her younger, less experienced writer self. I feel immigrant artists are indeed held to a very different standard when it comes to their experiences and the representation of themselves to world. It's so easy to be forced into the trap of representing the whole of a culture, be it all Haitians or all West Indians or all blacks in America. Representing the whole is the burden of the immigrant artist, forced on them not just from without but from within their own communities. Danticat added this letter as the afterward in future editions of "Breath, Eyes, Memory", "an addendum to the text." In the margins at the end of this letter I wrote, "The responsibilities of the artist..." Looking back I wonder why there is no question mark after that statement. Did I agree wholeheartedly with this addendum, only to be less sure of it as a declarative a week later, now wanting to explore it even more? What are my own responsibilities?
I find myself in a strange place as a black filmmaker. I constantly feel like I'm in a liminal state, between two worlds: the world of an artist of color who feels a responsibility to one's culture and an artist looking to support herself on her art. However, they seem to be mutually exclusive. The industry in which I am training to be apart, has room for only one black filmmaker at a time, and at present the black filmmaker de jour leaves a great deal to be desired. So I choose to create, boldly. What do I have to lose? I'm investing my life into my art. I have the luxury of film school, of sitting in classrooms talking about "my voice," my stories and art and how that works within the construct of culture and what responsibilities are involved in that. This all seems so passive in the face of my friends who walk into classrooms everyday and friends who are abroad actively working with refugee and immigrant youth. Danticat speaks on this and the "passive careers" that create "distant witnesses." It takes time to come to realization that the work you do as an artist, can produce broader understanding, that to create is never passive.
Camus' assertion that, "Art cannot be a monologue" is at the heart of the immigrant's art. Danticat knows this by her framing of what creating dangerously means with the deaths of two political figures, the oppression of the Duvalier regimes, the role art plays in subversion and effecting change. Art is not something meant for just the artist. To create is not enough, to express oneself is not enough. As an individual in a larger construct, your art must speak to that as well. Danticat speaks of memorial art in ancient Egypt as possibly being an answer to slaves being buried with their masters to serve them in the next world. This was art as "a stand-in for a life, a soul, a future." For the slaves, it must have been a terrifying thing to know your life was tied to serving others even after death. I search for the clarity and understanding those artists found to effect change. I search for that daily in my own work, to find solutions for a world that seems to be imploding with each passing day, in short, to create dangerously.
That's a bit of what I took from the first two chapters of "Create Dangerously." There's so much more of course. There are so many underlined passages and tons of notes in the margins. Antero, I'm curious about your experience while working with immigrant youth and their views on creating art, literature, etc.
The Kindness of Strangers
_posted in art | dayedayerocks | filmschool | lessons learned | 24 January 2011
At the opening of the year I emailed an artist whose work I really wanted to feature in my latest short film: Lwa, A Chorus of Voices. We finally connected Saturday morning and it was one of those rare moments you have with a complete stranger that makes you feel safe in sharing your art, safe that people understand what you're creating.
Cozbi Cabrera creates munecas, lovely handmade dolls with vintage fabrics, clothing, quilts and illustrates. I linked her to the Kickstarter page to give her a bit of background and why a film about Haitian Vodou. While she was excited about my "voice" and what I'm exploring, she was hesitant to share a muneca for a film about Haitian Vodou.
At the very moment she said it, it clicked in my head that it's one of the stereotypes that I never honestly thought about... Vodou Dolls. There, of course, are many stereotypes about Haitian Vodou I actively want to counter in my film, by not even addressing them. I'm so far from removed from them, but the truth is, the majority of what people know about Vodou are the stereotypes. And Cozbi's experienced that. I saw the muneca, as something precious to my protagonist, Odessa. It would be a treasured thing given to her as a child or gifted to her on her 16th birthday. Cozbi's experience with vintage dolls has been wrapped in people's stereotypes of race and culture. Her concern is more than valid.
As an artist I completely respect her point of view. It goes directly to my own thoughts about creating and what responsibility one has to what they create and how it lives in the world. It also speaks to holding one's ground on what they will actively participant in as an artist. Yes, I could have just ordered the doll and not given her any inkling of what I was planning to do with it, but what kind of artist would I be in that situation? I would get what I want at the price of another artist's convictions.
She explained that in the past people quickly attached a meaning to the dolls (e.g. Vodou dolls), when they have real meaning on their own. This I can appreciate. This I can understand. So no custom made Cozbi muneca. However, she offered up a wonderful solution. Cozbi will be designing a quilt to decorate Odessa's bedroom, a quilt created with vintage fabrics. For Odessa, it can be a tie to her past, her family and her country. For me, it's connecting with a like minded artist, finding support in unknown places.
Cozbi's willingness to find a solution to help me in creating my vision was heartening. It was a necessary moment when I'm stuck in the the realities and details of filmmaking, like hiring crew, dealing with fundraising, all the while holding fast to the voice of my film. It's a nice reminder that in all the extra stuff, the universe gives back just a little to remind you that you're doing just fine.
A Kickass Crew for a Kickstarter Campaign. And a Heartfelt Thanks.
_posted in dayedayerocks | film | filmschool | 19 January 2011
Kickstarter Production Still photo credit: Shirley Kim
A few weeks ago I sent out an email to a few classmates asking if they'd be interested in helping me put together a video for a Kickstarter Campaign. It was the first Saturday back to school, and one of only four free weekends we'll have free until the 4th week in March. We were already griping about our class schedules, along with all the rewriting, preproduction, casting and location scouting we all have to do. With all that I wasn't expecting too many people to be able to make it and who could blame them if they didn't.
I spent the night rewriting my script of items I was hoping to talk about in the video, as well as finalizing the content on the Kickstarter page. By this time I had resolved the issues I've had with asking people to monetarily back my work. My contribution to most projects have always been my time and skills. In the long run, when you measure that time/skill combination in dollars, you've given so much more than you could have monetarily. It's time you'll never get back and time that you stole from one part of your life to give to another part or to someone else. That's serious business.
The morning of the shoot I drove around to a few different markets to find some colorful food, bought breakfast for my crew and picked a few people up. By call time we had a full crew. Seven of my classmates and one 2nd year MFA were up for a shoot. It's a great thing to be surrounded by creative and talented people, it's a tremendous thing to be surrounded by people who are also supportive and willing to give something as precious as time.
Six hours later we had great conversations about the differences in Jamaican and Indian curries, how many rolls of film we're going to buy for our next films, watched a classmate struggle through cutting scallions, cooked a meal together, filmed my talking head and just had a ton of fun. Thanks guys. I owe you some time/skills combination in the future.
_my Kickstarter Crew
Director : Dehanza Rogers
Directors of Photography : Dylan Chapgier & Alejandro Salinas-Albrecht
Assistant Camera : Eben Portnoy & Vanita Shastry
Assistant Director : Iyabo Kwayana
Gaffer/Grip : Shadae Smith
Sound : Ryan Moody
Editor : Dehanza Rogers
Production Design : Shirley Kim & Vanita Shastry
Still Photographer : Shirley Kim
Winter 2011
_posted in dayedayerocks | filmschool | 07 January 2011
The new quarter started on Monday.
This is the quarter we produce, finance and direct a six-ten minute short film. That sounds simple enough, but it's within the hollywood model of filmmaking. It's not shot on a 5D and it's not you and few of your friends getting together on a weekend to film.
Like our first short, we're assigned a crew for key positions: assistant director, director of photography, assistant camera, gaffer, mixer and boom, from our fellow classmates.
For the next four weeks we're taking four courses. The cinematography course includes one on one meetings with the professor, director and dp of each film. We're taking a costume design course, symposium and a preproduction course, which is twice a week. The preproduction course is comprised of the 7 people who crew for each other.
During these four weeks, we're also in preproduciton for our films: location scouting, hiring additional crew, still working on our scripts, working on character development, searching for funding, casting and then rehearsing, among a host of other things.
After the four weeks, we are thrown into a rotation of 3 day shoots, fridays to sundays, for 7 consecutive weeks.
My production group is lead by Gyula Gazdag, Hungarian filmmaker and Artistic Director of the Sundance Filmmakers Lab. We had our first production meeting Tuesday last and I was instantly smitten with Gyula.
_reasons i'm smitten with gyula
Number 01.
Create something that doesn't exist and the entire universe is against everything that is being created. You must exercise power for things to happen.
Number 02.
We should have seven different gods in our group. We need to create something in spite of all the different forces in the universe.
Number 03.
If you can convince everyone in your crew and cast about the necessity of this film being made, then the forces will multiply.
Number 04.
You don't need to know everything to be a director. You need to know what your goal is and to inspire everyone who works on the project. Inspire to get something better than what you initially recognized.
Number 05.
Asking the right questions, is more important than having the answers.
Number 06.
Your responsibility is to your vision.
Number 07.
Every single story and film has its own rules.
No matter where you go, there you are.
_posted in dayedayerocks | filmschool | lessons learned | 21 November 2010
My first quarter at UCLA's MFA Film Production/Directing program is about to end. It started about 9 weeks ago, but it honestly feels like 9 months.
The program consists of 21 students total, with 18 directing students and 3 cinematographers. The program is traditionally 4 years long, a few have completed it in three, there are a few who are "5th year MFAs." Our first year is highly structured, our classes are picked for us, we're placed in shooting groups and you deal with the crew you're given.
_open 24/7/365
The thing I've had to come to terms with the most is the fact that this thing I love, this thing that I've always made time for, be it the weekend or a few hours a week, is now my 24/7/365. Film is no longer the thing I want to do or the future plan, it's the thing I'm actively doing. It's absolutely amazingly exciting and it's fucking frightening. It's a huge paradigm shift to take hold of and be comfortable with the dream being a reality. So instead of finding time to write or edit or film on a Saturday for a few hours, I should in all honestly be spending at least twelve hours a day on learning and perfecting my craft. This is my job--my only job. Nine weeks in and I'm still struggling with truly understanding that situation.
A few of my classmates and I had this conversation and it's always good to commiserate on the fears wrapped in such a wonderful adventure. I love that there's a classmate who is constantly trying to figure out how to not let film school consume ever part of her life. She never misses an opportunity to ask the next professor or TA, how they balance film school and having a life and everyone says the same thing, "you won't have a life." Bless her heart, she's actively trying to keep a balance in her life and I dig that about her.
_opportunity cost
In economics there's this concept of passing up the next best choice when making a decision, basically giving up the choice of one thing in order to obtain another. That thing you gave up is the opportunity cost. For years I've been struggling with what and who I left behind for the possibility of film school. I left Georgia with no guarantees, only a dream and a shit ton of determination. How I've felt about what I gave up changes as I get older. While I'm excited about film school, realizing I'll be living in LA for another 4 years away from the people that make me the happiest--the people that make up my family, is a hard pill to swallow. I've been in LA for 6 years and I've been fortunate to meet some great and caring people, but my ATL fam is comprised of people who know my narrative, all my dirty little secrets, most embarrassing and joyous moments and whom I trust.
I was hanging with some 2nd and 3rd year female MFAs and the conversation ranged from the craft to having families while working in film. Four years is a long time to put your life on hold, even for something you love, weighed against the female realities of a family and a life outside of film. The thing you love shouldn't be a roadblock to a full and complete life. Filmmaking does not allow for balance in your life, so you have to find it wherever you can.
_collaboration
Filmmaking is pure collaboration. It's a level of collaboration that I've never truly experienced. It's been a learning experience to say the least. There have been a number of teachable moments, experiences and observations, the most important:
Number 01.
not everyone shares a respect for the process, so make sure that you do - crewing is honest work, so respect it. the physical labor of filmmaking is what makes filmmaking possible, point blank.
Number 02.
having a work ethic is equally important than any creativity or grand stories you want to tell. we all have a voice, take the time to respect the technical aspects of filmmaking if you want to direct
Number 03.
respecting the people you work with even when you don't like them is an absolute must
Number 04.
adding please, thank you and you're welcome to your vocabulary is imperative (you'd be surprised how often people don't bother saying them)
Number 05.
communication means making sure everyone understands what's going on, it does not mean speaking louder or more often, that's just making noise.
_out of sight, out of mind
Wrapped up in all this excitement is a bit of disappointment. I had hoped that this ultimate goal, the outcome of a long journey, which was shared with my closet friends, would be something I would ultimately share with those same people. It's hard for people to understand how disconnected this program makes you feel from your own life. It's been financially, physically and emotionally draining and it's only the beginning. This gets harder. Having an emotional sounding board is imperative.
Hubert Sauper, director of Darwin's Nightmare, said "you want to have people around you who are intellectual mirrors." That's no easy task. I always felt lucky to have that, but sitting in class for 12 hours a day, spending what free time you have either with actors rehearsing or writing or editing, you disconnect from your real life and reconnecting seems a chore, on both sides.
_next quarter
Winter 2011 is right around the corner. We've gotten our shooting schedules. I've combed over budgets from previous years, started looking for funding, started collected creatives, trying to figure out what I can cut from my script to lose those two extra pages and I'm hoping I'll get out of LA for a bit before it all kicks off. Wish me luck.
_soundcheck: quantic: an announcement to answer
Social networks were killing my social graces
_posted in dayedayerocks | lessons learned | 19 September 2010
"Two Keys" painting credit: Daye Rogers
Recently I deleted my social network accounts, Facebook, Foursquare, Last.fm, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.
I was becoming that guy who, when you meet up with him has to Twitter, Foursquare and/or Facebook the experience in the present, that guy that constantly texts, tweets or otherwise transmits when you thought the two of you were actually in conversation. Having lunch with that guy is always a chore and always an annoyance. Lunch, dinner or a picnic with that guy seems more like a moment of intrusion on his virtual world, rather than hanging out with a friend.
Don't get me wrong. People who knew me when I first started university, know me as "the girl with the camera," so the idea of intruding in on personal space is nothing new to me. I'm all about the performative nature of images and life itself, but there's something about social networks that can turn that joy of observing and recording your own life into a rude and inconsiderate act.
It was a gradual progression for me. I went from the cellphone staying in my bag, to posting from the bathroom to just pulling out the phone at the table and just having at it, which has always irked me to no end when my lunch or dinner partners do the same.
The moment of truth for me, as they say, occurred while I was home recently. I was sitting in the den getting some work done and I heard the crack of the bedroom door open and out ran the most awesome of three year olds from his nap. He beamed a charming smile as he beelined for me, gave me a hearty hug and a proper baby slobber kiss on the check. He then turned, without missing a beat and picked up his water gun, pointed it at me, closed one eye and proceeded to shoot me. The disappointment on his face when he realized the gun was empty was spectacular. The shock and happiness at watching me fill it with water was priceless. The laughing scream that followed as he ran from the stream of water that caught him on the side of the head was gratifying. That moment was real, it was wrapped up in all these amazing emotions of love and contentment that turned into tickled pink.
I was experiencing a very real moment and it didn't seem real unless I stopped the moment and posted it on not only Facebook, but Twitter it as well. I had become that guy. As long as I posted to social networks as an afterthought I felt it was alright, I wasn't putting my present life on hold to connect with people who weren't there, disconnecting from the people who were.
_insincere friendship
I had about 250 Facebook friends, and this was with me being a bit selective. While working at an Apple retail store, which was one of my worst employment experiences ever, I met people who face to face were rude, inconsiderate and who didn't interest me in the least and I'm sure the feeling was mutual. However, these same people sent me friend requests. Why would I want people I don't want in my real life in my virtual life? Needless to say I ignored those requests.
Facebook does a great job of making me feel obligated to interact with people I rarely even speak to. There's this pressure to perform the actions of friendship, when I honestly don't feel the desire to do so. I've culled my friend list down to 151 people. I was "friends" with people I honestly had very little interest in or absolutely didn't like or just lost touch with and really didn't mind that I had. Friendship is something I take quiet seriously and it seems that social networks allow for a frivolity of it that I find troubling.
I was becoming an insincere friend. I'd rather not be a friend, than an insincere one.
_reconnecting
I've recreated a few of the accounts I had, namely Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. A friend of mine always positions social networks as a database or history of his life. It's a valid point but honestly, I never went back and tracked my own content, the music I listened to, the tweets I twittered or even the Facebook posts I posted. I use to blog for that reason. If it's more personal, I keep journals for that reason.
While away from the various social networks, there were moments when I thought "I should tweet that." The fact that my account didn't exist anymore gave me the needed few seconds of pause to realize, actually what I just thought wasn't worth tweeting or sharing. It was an internal thought, that may be brought up in conversation in the future, but the impulse to share random thoughts makes very little sense to me now. It's always good to get back to sensibilities that represent the better part of yourself.
_soundcheck: the xx: xx
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
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
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 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?
Testing 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 streamed lined 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. 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
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
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.
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
me llaman calle
_posted in dayedayerocks | music | 13 December 2007
this morning i asked my coworker, oscar, to help me translate manu chao's me llaman calle.
the video itself is lovely, but what really does it the way he uses language. the translation has none of the beauty it holds in it's original tongue.
i am a machine of the city
they call me a whore and a princess
strange thing, the song felt familiar. there's a point in there song where he says, "a whore and a princess" and i instantly thought of a film a recently saw, princesas.
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.
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
the blues ain't nothin' but a good woman feeling bad...
_posted in dayedayerocks | monday morning blues | 14 November 2007
the lyrics say it all...
Black Night: Muddy Waters
Dark Road: Robert Bradley
Worried Down With the Blues: Larry McCray
The Sky is Crying: Elmore James
Another Bad Day: Larry Garner
Blue: Stevie Ray Vaughan
What In The World: Rory Gallagher
Lonesome In My Bedroom: Luther Johnson
Trouble Trouble: Son Seals
St. James Infirmary Blues: Joe Cocker
Everyday I Have the Blues: Elmore James
Blue and Lonesome: Little Walter
3 O'clock in the Morning Blues: Ike & Tina Turner
Cold, Cold Feeling: Aron Burton
Worried Life Blues: John Lee Hooker
It Serves You Right to Suffer: John Lee Hooker
Hard Time Killing Floor Blues: Chris Thomas King
country is southern is country...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 27 October 2007
for some reason i've been missing the south, today more so than any other. and not atlanta south, not even columbus south, but georgia red clay south... vidalia south... savannah south... miles and miles of cotton, onion and peach fields south.
i miss eating vidalia onions like apples... i miss when it rains and the red clay turned into a brilliant orange-red stew that would ruin your shoes (let's be honest... everything you were wearing was ruined)... i miss riding my bike after a fresh rain and creating track marks that would quickly bake under the georgia sun. and a week later those same furrows my bike made would still be there.
i miss large family meals where the kitchen was the living room and it was packed! anytime something was needed in another room one of us kids were sent. we'd have to crawl under the table to exit the kitchen and run our errand. upon return, thats right, crawl back to your seat. damn, we were country! i miss random people showing up during meals, and how there was always room for one more, even if one more meant three more. that too was country, the kind of country you can only hope you can live up to.
i miss sleeping on the front porch when it would get too hot to sleep inside on summer nights. i miss the small candy dish of red and white peppermint that would soon invite in a trail of ants from the carport. mind you these weren't the famed georgia fire ants. those were found out back near the garden and i'll be damned if i didn't go home every trip with a few bites for my trouble. i miss the smell of the kerosene and whatever else was mixed in with the ant killer. im convinced there are some brain cells that just never got a chance to develop from breathing that stuff in.
i miss barbqq, proper barbq with collards with hamhocks, not turkey neckbones but proper hamhocks and cornbread. i miss the glory of chitterlings with all their filth. i miss fried catfish and grits. i miss eating watermelon on the front porch with my cousins. i miss fried chicken and blackeyed peas. and let's not forget sweet tea.
when i use to live in the south i never claimed it. i was quick to point out i wasn't even a full american. fuck it... im half panamanian and just as proud to say i'm half georgia peach. but on some days im just 100% southern.
i'm off to make biscuits and gravy.
_soundcheck: cary ann hearst: dust and bones
living high cotton
_posted in dayedayerocks | 13 October 2007
so for the next two weeks i'll be living high cotton. included with that is a dog, three cats and a pond filled with fish... usually i just feed the outdoor cat, hang around for a few hours and then go back home... the next two weeks, however, is me living high cotton, opposed to just playing at being a homeowner.
the dog, i have to say is cooler than my simon. after her walks she expects playtime and she makes that very clear... sitting by the pond, pond-ering, drinking a beer (or some variety of spirits) and playing slimy tennis ball fetch is as close to god, as im going to get these days...
the outdoor cat is never around, the other cat is unassuming and cool... and the third, a jerk, dare i say an asshole in animal terms... i've never been partial to cats. but there are a few cats who just as soon piss on you then have you bother them, except for the occasional petting... while others are just brats.
but i have to say a house filled with animals comfortably sleeping in their favorite spots just feels right. it reminds me of home. there's nothing like a snoring dog to remind you of lying on the floor watching "it's the great pumpkin charlie brown" while your dog sleeps next to you... snoring...
i miss being a kid more than i miss anything else.
_vidcheck: michael apted: thunderheart
something about closets. and skeletons.
_posted in dayedayerocks | 05 October 2007
this afternoon i talked about things i've never really talked about to anyone, not even those within my family. there are few people i trust implicitly, but im lucky enough to have at least one friend i can put that burden upon. there are few who may get very abbreviated moments of my life, but those are few and far between.
i've never known how to be a forgiving person when it came down to those life changing moments. im at a point where that no longer bothers me. i would rather except the fact that i leave open ended pain in my wake. this is an admittance of my failings.
i've learned that all things i do, i do too heartily. i love too much when i shouldn't love at all. i give more than i get back because i was raised in such a manner, yet i find i am resentful when i do not receive a modicum of consideration. i am more of a reactionary than i am a measured individual in my approach to life. when i dislike a person i do it with no plans to ever allow for another opinion of them. if my favor is lost very early on it is lost forever. once again, too hearty in my approach.
those i truly loved first and still find room to be angry with, have never and will never lose my favor. this, i feel is a redeeming factor. this i learned as a child. those few years we spend as children dictate our entire adulthood. flaw or not, it was one of the few emotional lessons i received. finding room for those things that should have been given to us early in our lives, is hard to do now when you've already began cramming in life's lessons.
i do not trust those who so readily share their lives and their stories upon a new found friendship. this too was learned in childhood. there are reasons skeletons are in closets. when you grow up in a home with multiple closets, all filled, you learn that there is some safety in never opening those doors. once they are opened, there really is no turning back.
_soundcheck: miles davis: kind of blue
loss
_posted in dayedayerocks | 03 October 2007
my ex sister-in-law died last night. no one knows what happened. she went home because she wasn't "feeling so well" and she died shortly afterwards. what happened between her and my brother was between them. we liked her afterwards. she was lovely.
my earlier post about "being a year older isn't doing much for me," makes me feel like an out right prat. while on the phone with my da, she said "treat each day as if it were you last," as most people do when someone dies.
truth is, each day is more than just your last possible day... it's your whole life. the sum of your existence equals this very moment, then the next moment and the next and so on.
by default i'm a pessimist even when i'm optimistic, i'm a defeatist even in the face of my greatest accomplishments and im a diversionist even when making plans and plotting schemes. but there are moments when i think that all things are possible. unfortunately those moments involve someone shuffling off their mortal coil.
death should not be the cause of our appreciation of life, but there you have it. the only time most of us strive to become the people we long to become, is when we're faced with death. this is where man realizes that death will "take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have."
i'm sitting behind a computer trying to appreciate that my life could (should) change only when i take the sum of all those infinitesimal moments and make them into something i can be proud to call my life.
_soundcheck: miles davis: bitches brew
blah
_posted in dayedayerocks | 03 October 2007
being a year older isn't doing much for me... ill just leave it at that... maybe next year's birthday will be more interesting... maybe spent in some wonderfully interesting place (outside of l.a. is what that means).
yet another year...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 25 September 2007
no doubt i've been rather inconsistent in the last month or so. im a mercurial creature even at my best, which is not something one wants to admit to. i guess i'll try to be a bit more consistent.
btw, thanks buffi and sp. :-*
when friends do well...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 24 August 2007
oh how happy am i for the lovely Tiger! Tiger!?
tonight is their new album release party at the earl. there are two articles about them in the creative loafing and the sunday paper.
buffi is so fucking punkrock that she makes me swoon... can you say major girl crush since i've known her? if i were a guy i'd so hit on her all the time. she's the kind of chick that is always down for whatever you're working on and has the talent for pulling off some great projects. all my friends are fucking superstars man...
i wish i were back in the atl at the earl with a guinness and friends watching my favorite atlanta band rock the fuck out.
creative loafing: Tiger! Tiger!
restless.
_posted in dayedayerocks | 21 August 2007
title: without plastic photographer: daye rogers
she was born into her family
that was her only claim to it
they no longer hold a place in her heart
she knows shes forgotten. often.
taught her how to hate herself
before she even knew who she was;
always waiting for someone to tell her she's special
so she never will be.
little by little she lost her sense of direction
it didn't abandon her all at once.
she would turn left onto one-way streets
and wonder how she ended up going the wrong direction
a habit she acquired from her mother? perhaps?
her mother.
she wasn't even sure if her restlessness was even her own.
or if she was restless because he was
she could only stand in awe of him
he was so unprepared for life
yet movement stood still for him. he
parted air with his presence
she busied herself with organizing in order not to create.
she feared creation, or rather if she could create
words felt small upon her tongue.
images dull through her own eyes.
but he could create, he was texture
scratching her fingers as she felt for his patterns
she was so anxious. so anxious.
she couldn't watch a movie in a one sitting
she would pause it and go about her daily business
and come back hours later.
only to watch a little bit more
between the pauses she spent time trying to understand.
why the characters were so restless.
harry potter = angry at jk
_posted in dayedayerocks | 08 August 2007
i'm only on chapter three and i am so angry with jk right now... i've already gotten teary eyed and mad and scared and shocked by its honesty and darkness...
dear lord, there is so much more to come... i can feel it... and im happy that NO ONE has told me anything...
misunderstood
_posted in dayedayerocks | music | 03 August 2007
the ones that make it always ain't the talented
some dreams get lost never to be found again
all my friends are superstars...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 31 July 2007
Tiger! Tiger! has a new album out.
purchase from chicken ranch records
$daye == lazy ass
_posted in dayedayerocks | 20 July 2007
i've just declared myself a lazy ass... so what have i done since the summer started... let's see...
_01
ive read NONE of the books on my summer list
_02
i've not looked at all my footage for my documentary to transcribe the interviews; which total about 8 tapes... i've not watched any of the footage from the senior portfolio presentations
_03
i've not cleaned out my bedroom closet
_04
i've not organized my work area, as i've been meaning to do for months
_05
i've not gotten frames for my prints or paintings; nor have i hanged anything on my walls save for; a replica of two twins, two pieces by eric abel, two of my own photographs. and haphazardly i should point out.
_06
i haven't created a budget, cause yes i'm poor as a satanic mouse
_07
i've not answered snail mail for about 6 months
_08
i've not done any sewing since the pieces for my friend's buffi's black daggers art show
_09
i haven't exercised since december!
_10
i've not redesigned any of my sites, nor have i taken one photograph this year, it's safe to say that includes last year as well...
wow, thats a lot of nots and haven'ts. but i have worked on a few websites, including the shit ones at work, i have drank a lot of liquor, and i've been stressed out by the stupidest of people.
so i'd say i better shape up or just accept that my summer is blown like a patron in a bathhouse during the 70s. yea, that was probably bad, but still funny in a way... in some way? ok, not at all...
"you got to evolve"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 15 July 2007
this weekend my friend obi came in from new york for a visit. we talked about the differences in los angeles and new york; the people, the mentality, the search for success.
we also talked about jobs; those that hold you back, those that give you what you need to move on and those that are just jobs that will never be a career. he was saying how he felt he was a train bulldozing through things and hitting this big wall trying to get to a certain place in his career and then realized that you "either break apart or you evolve and fly over that bitch." sometimes the simplest comment can put things in a perspective that just disconnects you from the bullshit you've been swimming in.
it's so easy to just go through the routine of work, school, life that you completely forget to make time for the process. you can't fear the process, thats the only thing thats going to get you to the goal.
anyway... obi will be back in town next weekend because some cat at comedy central came across his tshirt line and loved the black hoodie, so that shit is going to be in the gift bags they hand out at the comedy central roast of flavor flav. so mr. jetset will be going to the roast and sipping fucking drinks while watching people ooohhhh and aaahhh over his hoodie. i can't even hate. if i cant be where i want right now, at least the people i know are getting there... fucking superstars...
"how you gonna disretrospect me?"
_posted in africa | dayedayerocks | film | ingredients for life | 12 July 2007
alright... a coworker sent me a link to who's your caddy?. let me just say right now, i love the 'kast... me and outkast go back to 1994, hardcore... but i'll be damned if i let big boi get away with this racially charged remake of a horrible movie. that movie being caddyshack 2 with jackie mason.
let's get beyond the fact that the movie looks like complete shit, and talk about why, why and WHY my people have to come incorrect when it comes to comedy. lowest common denominator means you're a whack ass comedian, with no insight or you're not smart enough to come up with an intelligent comedic viewpoint. i think you need to look at some good examples; dave chappelle, richard pryor. it's possible to still talk about race and not feed the stereotype machine... if your whole shtick is about being black, then you need to work on your fucking act. last time i checked, black and white people pissed the same way, shat (yes i said shat) the same way as well... something about pants and one leg at a time thing...
"how you gonna disretrospect me" big boi? ras! im just saying man. when are we going to make movies that are not dumb racial comedies, that more or less solidify stereotypes. fuck i cant even stand "white trash" comedy. i dig smart comedy that deals with real issues, be they black, white, yellow, brown, pink or mauve issues.
_in other news.
the quiet life has a post about african eats... oh yes... believe me im making me some fufu and moambe stew soon. i haven't had nigerian food since leaving atlanta. man i miss my international friends. i never had to venture far to find some food from indian, morocco, nigeria or senegal. and all i had to do was go home to get some west indian food cooked by my own mama. man, i could use some salt fish and ground food right. about. now.
since i've mastered west indian cuisine (and my da is quiet proud) it's time to venture past our caribbean home to the motherland. this will be my first foray into african eats, so i may create a nice new category on the site... recipes gone wrong, in the kitchen, or ingredients for life. holy shit... im feeling ingredients for life. it has been decided... fresh recipes as caprice dictates.
_soundcheck: common: like water for chocolate
i slept (if you can call laying in bed in the dark listening to music, sleeping) for an hour last night.
_posted in dayedayerocks | 10 July 2007
insomnia is "a sleep disorder characterized by an inability to sleep and/or inability to remain asleep for a reasonable period."
i've had insomnia since i was a kid.... i use to stay up until 3am watching westerns with my grandfather.
if not insomnia i experience hypersomnia, "recurrent episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness or prolonged nighttime sleep." this usually lasts for about a week every 6 months or so...
and when i do sleep, i experience bruxism, "the involuntary grinding of ones teeth while sleeping." i also keep the ipod at the corner of the bed so i can listen to music or a podcast hoping that will help me fall back to sleep, which usually never works.
so when i get my normal 2-3 hours a night of sleep i grind my teeth, and that sometimes wakes me up and i get less than 3 hours of sleep... i usually crash around 2:30am, or so and im up by 4:30am, lying in bed wishing i could go back to sleep, then im out of bed by 5:30am. i either watch tv, clean up or cook breakfast, yet i still dont make it to work until 7:30am or 8am. or sometimes i get to bed at 5:30am or so and walk up a 7am or 7:30am and make it to work at 9am.
i feel like that fellow in clockwork orange, where his eyes are forced open for prolonged periods of time.
my friend brandon has a form of narcolepsy, i swear to god. he can fall asleep anywhere at anytime. he was eating once and just like that, fell the fuck asleep. i've never let him live that one down.
don't get me wrong, i'm tired as hell. i'll sit at my computer almost dosing off and then when i think, "holy shit! sleep!" i instantly go to the bedroom and i just lay there pissed off that i can't fall asleep. the lack of sleep doesn't bother me as much as the headaches i frequently get from not sleeping enough. and the fact that i can't be as productive in my late night hours piss me off, as well. if im going to be up i should be working on a cure for AIDS or solving the world's poverty issues or saving the polar bears or something.
_soundcheck: tinariwen: aman iman
happy birthday b...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 09 July 2007
do you remember this picture bran?
brandon... you are at that lovely age where you lie about how old you are... you are twenty thirty... enjoy it... cause you'll soon be old... old like me... old like your dad... old! and dont forget... zombie jesus will always love you, when others don't or won't.
hugs and kisses, you new york stud... rocking ny like the mad genius you are...
the efficiency of death
_posted in dayedayerocks | 07 July 2007
i just walked in the door from attending the funeral of my friend's father. edgar de leon. having listened to ben and others talk about his father, i am sad i never had a chance to know him. amidst all the emotion and tears that come with any man's passing, there was truly relief in knowing that his father is no longer suffering. i hear people say this alot and i honestly never believed it. but after listening to ben talk about his dad for the last 8 months i've come to realize there is a better place, there is a place where the people we love no longer suffer, and that's in our hearts. i've never seen two people as composed as ben and his mother at the passing of a loved one. yes, they've had some time to come to terms with his impending death, but their dignity, grace and appreciation of those who attended were amazing.
with all this emotion and understanding was the disgust of the efficiency of death. it took the caretakers at forrest lawn 15 minutes to bury ben's father. had it not been for the flowers placed on his grave you would never have known a man had just been buried. a backhoe was used to pull the dirt over the open grave, and then there was some apparatus on the backhoe that became a flatter. it packed the earth down flat, and it made a horrible sound like a jackhammer. then the green carpet was rolled out aka green sod, and then another round with the flat jackhammer. and scene. until the machines and men moved down the street to the next burial.
i couldnt help thinking that people have always died and people have always been buried. it was not always this way. we dug holes ourselves, we placed loved ones in these holes, and covered them ourselves. when i die just wrap me in a sheet and place me in the earth. i want my friends and loved ones to cover me themselves. i want them to get their hands dirty and participate in my passing. i want them to help me on my way as i hope i am living my life; messy, with hands dirty from trying to scratch a place for myself, and calloused from trying to be of help to those around me. as i want to be a willing participant in the lives of those i love and care for, i would want just one last time to know that those who love and care for me, are willing to participate in the last moments of my bodily form.
im off to once again call the grandmother, but this time to just tell her i appreciate her. i think i've come to a place where i've accepted that we all die, we all will cease to exist. the thing to keep in mind is how we want those we brush past in life to remember us.
kernal panics...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 04 July 2007
my macbook pro is experiencing serious problems since installing to the must current update... in short it has died. i am not happy, but thank goodness for being a geek with two computers... the g5 keeps on ticking...
and no i cant seem to find the macbook pro install cds that came with the damn thing... apple, damn you and your disposable products. and yes i'll still by the iphone cause im a complete fool
"O, that this too too solid flesh would melt"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 04 July 2007
yet another passing... last night my friend ben told me his father passed on friday... his father has been dealing with some serious issues for quiet some time. he finally got a lung transplant at the eleventh hour a few months ago, when his family was resigned to the fact that his situation was grave. and now he's passed.
all i could think about was how amazing benji has been as a son. he spent every night with his dad. it made an amazing impression on me, the way he took care of his family. and all this on top of being mr. teacher and still finding time to enjoy his own life.
of course i called my da and we talked about life and death, yet again. and i think what i never admitted to myself was, as i get older, the people around me got older. and they happen to have already been old when i came around. i know that sounds silly, but i never admitted to myself that my grandmother is now 74 and my grandfather is now 77. best case scenario they have about 20 good years left. lately ive been thinking about my grandmother as a great grand. it would be a complete disservice to have kids and them not know my da. as a grandmother she's been exceptional, as a mother just as exceptional. i can only imagine how she'd spoil my kids, pass down a rich west indian culture, and just be an amazing influence on them...
i can say the last few months have made me think about my life more and my relationships with people. what's important are those relationships with family and friends, cause what you accomplish in life is secondary to the people you connect with and grow with. my boss gave me three pieces of advice, shortly after his daughter started chemo; work hard, enjoy your life and be a good person. that's it. in the face of losing his child thats what he felt were the three most important things he's learned.
and i completely co-sign on that advice. i'd add in there one piece of advice i myself find hard to follow; even in the face of failure or mistakes, walk away knowing you learned a valuable lesson.
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
"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
"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...
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
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
chris i love you!
_posted in dayedayerocks | 31 May 2007
i love deadwood... we all know this... seven minutes of "cocksucker" and every other vial word known to man, makes for a happy and joyful daye...
chris, you are by far the greatest human being to ever grace the face of this planet... well at least for the last seven minutes...
hugs and kisses...
_soundcheck: tricky: blowback
"i want to do what you do!"
_posted in dayedayerocks | film | los angeles | 30 May 2007
last week was spent filming senior portfolios at manual arts high school. antero asked if i'd be interested in helping out and i figured it would be a great start for breaking in my new camera.
it was definitely more than breaking in for my camera, it was a learning experience to say the least. all of antero's kids are second language kids, so they may misstep here or there with the english language, but they are some of the sharpest kids i've had the pleasure of meeting.
the senior portfolios are new this year and antero wanted it filmed in order to show his 10th and 11th graders what they are expected to produce in their senior year. each year seniors will have to give a 30 minute presentation about their experiences in high school; both positives and negatives, their mission and future plans, break down each year based on their accomplishments and challenges. the most important thing in my opinion was their "global issue of injustice." each student had to pick a global issue of injustice that they believe they will be able to address as, well as adults. it was obvious to see why some students choose what they choose for their global issue, while others stumbled a bit in their attempt to articulate their chosen issue and how they will be effective in the fight of this issue. but it was obvious that thought went into what subject they choose.
i was privy to some extremely personal moments in this class and i can only say i was fortunate enough to be allowed to be there. the experience was so much more profound than anything i could try to convey here. i was impressed by kids who only 4 or 5 years ago knew no english and were new to america; to her cultures, views, expectations and her educational system.
i heard a few kids talk about the unfairness of not graduating when they passed their classes, but weren't able to pass the english part of the senior exit exam, the CAHSEE. one kid spoke about how he had no idea he could go to college, since people were telling him undocumented students cant go to college. i'd say 90% of them spent their first year in high school in a virtual language blackout. since they didn't understand english they felt alienated and alone and found it easier to skip school to find some semblance of community. right or wrong, who's to say we wouldn't try to find what makes sense in a situation like that. many of them spoke about their decision to drop out, but luckily they found teachers like antero and travis, among others who made sure they didnt make that tragic mistake.
each day i filmed i went home tired. not just physically, but emotionally. i saw these young adults talk about their personal struggles, personal losses, failures and successes. i saw young people close to tears when talking about losing loved ones, being disconnected from family or reintroduced to family they haven't seen since they were babies and how that changed them. i listened as a parent sat in the back of the room proud of her child's growth. i listened as they praised my friend antero for being a great teacher, albeit he assigned "too much work" and too many thick books to read. i felt a sense of pride that im friends with someone who makes such a mark on young people. its hard not to think about these kids and pray and hope that they become the lawyers, dentists, teachers, policemen, musicians and great human beings they all have the potential of being.
on a personal note. during the lunch break on the first day i ran into one of antero's kids from the intersession class where i taught a short documentary workshop. she was one of the girls i asked to film conversations the kids were having and she saw me and came to me excitedly, saying, "daye! i've been looking for you, but mr. garcia said you were at work." and we talked and i asked her where she'd be going to school and what she plans on studying and she said, "i want to do what you do! make movies." you can't imagine how that felt. it's so amazing to know that you helped someone find something they love, something they are excited to learn about. i was so moved by this. and i giggled to myself that she wants to do "what i do," when im barely aware of whatever it is im doing. but as marina said in class yesterday, "each time you make a new film, you're starting from scratch. and if you're not scared, not nervous about it, then you're done making films." it's that freshness of the unknown that keeps you going and maria helped me realize that also.
this summer we're planning a documentary workshop with noel again and i'm hoping maria will be involved. i so enjoy being at manual arts, rather its me filming my documentary or just visiting my friends there and helping them out. on friday ill be holding an editing class for a few of the kids from antero's theater class at ucla. i think that's a great start for a weekend.
_soundcheck: glen hansard and marketa irglova: the swell season
citizen...
_posted in dayedayerocks | film | 19 May 2007
last night freida lee mock screened "wrestling with angels: playwright tony kushner"
fantasy of anarchy and revolution
neuromuscular thing... writing...
yes, im excited...
_posted in dayedayerocks | film | 18 May 2007
and yes the panasonic dvx-100b is now sitting on the dining room table... he has been christened francis, yes in honor of francis ford... yes, i am excited... yes, it is now my most favorite thing...
so im going to play with him a bit longer, before im off to melnitz to see tony kushner. yes, that tony kushner... angels in america.... munich... and much much more... freida lee mock and he will be at melnitz for a q&a after the screening of wrestling with angels: playwright tony kushner...
brandon is gay!
_posted in dayedayerocks | 16 May 2007
so my boy bran, who works at the damn onion is on onion radio... he's the talking gay...
the only guy gay in the office
_soundcheck: electric six: fire
yet another day...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 15 May 2007
i more or less know what's coming around the corner... i've bought the camera i've been thinking about buying for two years now... i'm actually working on my documentary opposed to planning for making one... and im taking film classes at ucla... but im not excited... i don't know if it's stress or just me just waiting for the other shoe to drop... i was talking to a friend the other day about the different paths people take in life... the-young-and-bold-adventurous-blowing-up-the-spot path, the-getting-married-
having-kids path, the-slowly-mastering-your-craft path... and i realized im on neither of these three... fuck... i dont even know what path im on... the-didnt-finish-college-trying-to-get-back-in-this-time-studying-what-i-really-
want-to-study-have-a-job-i-fucking-dont-care-about-hate-the-city-i-live-in-
and-i-let-the-city-change-who-i-really-am path? that more or less sums it up...
the thing is im not even sure how to change any of that... i have my plans for applying to film school... i have plans for various projects... i have plans for my life 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 years down the line... but what if that's it... my entire life being me planning... that this very moment is all im suppose to ever have... a bunch of fucking dreams and ideas that will never go beyond my doorstep (of the apartment i hate in the city i hate)... i wasted the majority of my adult life and shit if that doesn't just make you feel like complete shit on a regular basis...
it is what it is as they say...
a hard lesson to learn
_posted in dayedayerocks | 19 April 2007
i didn't think that i would say anything about what happened at Virginia Tech, but it's been eating at me. I can't even imagine what the family and friends of those lost are dealing with. I've not yet (and pray I never will) experienced a personal loss due to violence.
but while walking through the geology building this morning i was struck with an irrational thought; "what if some kid with a gun comes running through those double doors?" i looked around to see what doors were open. and for a split second i was scared. it was an irrational fear. but then i came to my senses. the truth is you never know what waits around the corner for any of us.
that said, i feel so much sadness for any young person who feels that taking their own life, let alone the lives of so many strangers is the appropriate thing to do, the only thing to do. i can't imagine what long, dark and lonely road this kid was on to think this was a solution to his problems. i think people overlook that there are some serious fucked up and lonely kids that feel, rather justly or not, that they are being left behind by the world or looked over or just forgotten. this isn't to say what was done wasn't a completely horrendous act. but i think as a nation we're going to miss the real lesson here. we can't continue to raise kids to believe they don't matter or that they have no sounding board or no one cares.
while driving home yesterday, Brooks Brown, Columbine survivor spoke the most sincere words i've heard since monday. take a moment to listen. in all i've heard this made me pull over and deal with my emotions. in a world where media outlets feel its appropriate to plaster a picture of Cho with a gun putting at the camera in the midst of death and tragedy, a kid who experienced what no child should, has some sincere words. the thing that struck me the most was Brown's mention of his FRIEND Eric Harris. after all Harris and Klebold did, this young man has the strength and humanity to still call a kid who did a terrible, unforgivable thing a friend. i think that will be overlooked, i think people still won't get it.
this isn't about gun control laws. this is about a kid that slide into a dark place a long time ago and he was overlooked; even with all the news about the red flags about his personality, he was still overlooked. i pray that no family has to deal with losing a child to school violence again cause some kid felt alone. i don't know what issues made him take this turn; his isolation, his racial identity, his economic identity, there are so many variables involved that we may never know. but what is obvious is his hatred; of the world and self. that sort of hatred does not appear overnight. it's a slow burn.
when i first heard about what happened, i instantly thought of Cho's parents. how do you survive knowing that your son is now a historical fact, a willful murderer, a shame of a nation? do not take from this a lack of sadness for those lost, but it must be said that there are some serious questions that we as a society must address. we are fractured and we are violent and we are uncaring when all is needed is a kind word, rather than a snarky comment and we are in pain.
this is about a young man who didn't find his way out of depression and madness. this is about us as a country. this about the 33 people who died on Monday; 32 people who, like every other day thought nothing remarkable would happen and now they are gone, and a kid who slide long and hard into a place that no one should ever have to go - especially not alone.
collaborations
_posted in dayedayerocks | versus | words | 17 April 2007
i completely dig collaborations. so i'm proud to present,
the american crawl vs. on a bed of california stars
"where's fidel?"
_posted in dayedayerocks | film | los angeles | 13 April 2007
"In 1961 I hopped on a plane to Cuba. After I landed I jumped into the first taxi I saw and turned to the driver and said, 'Where's Fidel?'
Back in those days everyone knew where Fidel was and he told me that he was speaking to a group of women at some hotel. So I said, 'Take me there!'"
Albert Maysles continues with his story of how he was able to film Fidel from the moment he hit that event, then how Fidel invited him to various events. While at one such event Fidel receives a telegram and after reading it, asks Maysles if he wanted him to translate the telegram. Maysles said, "Of course."
And Fidel says, "Your State department has severed relations with Cuba."
Who the fuck is standing next to Fidel at a moment like that!? That's a fucking turning point in history and Albert Maysles is standing next to a man who's country for over 40 years has held its own in the shadow of El Norte and its embargo.
Albert Maysles came to our film class yesterday for a few hours and spoke about his experiences making documentary films. He's over 80 years old and has a list of new projects that would make a 20-something year old faint. After our class we went to the Pickford theater to hear him speak again, this time with clips from a number of his films.
I've not seen all his work, but from what I have seen, it's obvious that Maysles has created some of the most iconic images in documentary history. He doesn't take himself so seriously (ala Werner Herzog, who I love as well, but boy does he take it all way to seriously) and is genuinely a nice fellow who feels fortunate enough to have been able to create a body of work, "he never gets tired of watching." He derives such pleasure from being able to tell stories that may help us all understand the world and each other better.
What better way to spend your life? Maysles taught me such a great lesson last night. No matter where you are in your life you always have room to get better, to explore, to want to not only be a better filmmaker but to be a better human being.
He said that direct cinema has always been his objective in filmmaking and that the idea of a "fly on the wall" is not what direct cinema is, cause "a fly has no intelligence." Being a documentarian is about "open-mindedness" and establishing that trust with your subject, and always trying to find the good in them, regardless of how you feel about them. As his mother put it, "there is good in everyone," and he and his brother always set out to find that good, even if they didn't like someone. After awhile you find yourself at least understanding this person due to this search for the good.
He recounted some advice he received when he went to Russia to do his first film, a short about psychiatry in Russia. Maysles studied as a sociologist, a social scientist, as he put it. But this introduction into film solidified his place in the world. He said he was told to "always use a tripod and have a point of view in your film." Maysles being Maysles, says without losing a beat, "I'm glad that I had neither a tripod, nor a point of view." And that is the way he's approached all his films. He believes that its his job to give the audience, "the opportunity to make their own judgement." Giving the film the ability to breathe and letting the characters feel safe in going into their own "sacred territory," with him and his camera present, is the just one of Maysles' amazing talents. It's so easy to get caught up in wanting to be Maysles, to be a filmmaker of his caliber, without realizing that his films span over 50 years. Fifty years of luck, talent and just shear respect for not only the people he works with, but for himself and his belief that in every situation he's filmed, he belongs there. This one fact that he exudes, make the subjects of his films trust him and his process.
When I got home last night I told the hipster Ben about the night with Maysles and he said that he knew Maysles. And I was happy to hear this and it was due to the Rolling Stones film, Gimme Shelter. It struck just then that Maysles' range has always been broad. I've seen movies of his and had no idea they were his movies until recently. The one common element in those movies, before I knew the name Maysles, was the beauty and honesty in which he helped us experience other people's lives, other people's moments of truth.
The other extraordinary thing about Maysles is his mentorship. Unlike many filmmakers; narrative or documentary, Maysles has made sure to pass on his talents and skills to a generation of kids who could benefit from such guidance. His institute helps young kids with mothers who are incarcerated learn the skills needed to empower them to tell their own stories, to "create influential works of art while envisioning and realizing healthy futures."
Of all the filmmakers I've had the privilege to meet in the last two years, I'd have to say Maysles takes the proverbial cake.
_soundcheck: the shins, oh, inverted world
"you got more ideas than time"
_posted in africa | dayedayerocks | interactive narratives | photography | 09 April 2007
and... scene...
yea, it's been four months, i know. and in the last four months; lots of new projects, old projects revived, new ideas, etc.
a few things have stood out in the last few months; one being the time i spent teaching a workshop on documentary filmmaking with antero's kids from manual arts high school. it was only for two days, but i have to say it was the highlight for what has started out as a dreary year. the day after the workshop ended i realized i was getting up to go to work, not to hang out with these amazing kids. man, that was depressing. just those two days solidified my ultimate goal of film, media and teaching.
a few gems that i've come across.... enjoy.
MediaStorm always has great work. one piece thats stuck with me is "Kingsley's Crossing." Olivier Jobard created a great narrative from Kingsley's six month journey to get to Europe. there are times i need to be reminded that life requires courage and self-sacrifice, even when trying to make a name or a place for yourselve in the world.
Washington Post's On Being.
and
Peep Show.
_soundcheck: bob marley, legend
on break.
_posted in dayedayerocks | 24 November 2006
honestly.. im just not up to this right now... so on a bed of california stars is on break... dont know for how long... i definitely wont be back before 2007, if that... have a great holiday and new year and all that jazz.
art!
_posted in dayedayerocks | 19 November 2006
i went back to thinkspace gallery to take pictures for sp. he has a lovely piece in the square foot show, featuring blaine fontana. lovely pieces all around, and while there i saw some work by ekundayo. holy shit i fell in love, BUT when i went back tonight with the intention of purchasing one of his pieces, it was SOLD... i cried on the inside... luckily erik abel happened to be there picking up his pieces from a pervious show and i bought two pieces. and i heart them. i gave myself a limit on how much i would spend and in that limit i got two nices pieces.
always busy...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 09 November 2006
lots of goings ons this week... extremely busy... been meaning to post about the amazing weekend i had and all the cool shit that went down... after im done with this week's assignment for class i hope to take some time and post...
i have to say last night was amazing... i did some filming, an interview with one of the subjects for my documentary. ill post some clips soon... talk about things, etc... tomorrow is a holiday, so im hoping this long weekend will be all personal projects and film...
i choose marley
_posted in dayedayerocks | words | 29 October 2006
like the man said...
speak happiness!
sad enough without your woes.
speak of love.
sad enough without your foes.
in the middle of the night
_posted in dayedayerocks | words | 28 October 2006
on most nights, i read aloud poems and passages from plays, prose or other lovely chunks of words that make me feel... just feel... tonight i came across stephen crane's in the desert... i've never read any of his poetry... actually i cant ever recall reading any of his work, save for the red badge of courage. obviously im missing out... this, i think is lovley...
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."
i'm freaking out man...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 25 October 2006
thanks to buffi for the "come to jesus" talk this morning. last night i was so stressed out about my first documentary project and this morning was no better. i woke up, went to the kitchen to make lunch and of course the tv is on ifc when i switched it on. there's a show on about some new indy movies; the last king of scotland, a guide to recognizing your saints. Then there's a fucking doc about akira kurosawa. talk about feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for a goal that seems so far away.
so i freaked. and like buffi said, im in a young and tender place with this art they call film. and i should prepare myself for sucking. time and process coupled with my desire and ideas are on my side. being a superstar is not always possible. but when i was younger no matter what i ventured into i did well... be it computers, math, science, music, tennis or the few arts i've seriously tried my hand at.
so beyond the obvious learning experience the classroom affords, im going to have to prepare myself for, as punk rock put it, sucking hardcore. thats the only thing thats going to keep me honest and keep me learning.
well im off to suffer through my day, whilst thinking about all the editing i need to get done.
_soundcheck: ultra chicks, volume 5: chicks a gogo!
new music wednesdays
_posted in dayedayerocks | new music wednesdays | 18 October 2006
i finished shooting for my assignment for doc class and now i have to pick music for my sketch. and music i take quite seriously. growing up, there wasnt a day that music wasnt moving throughout the house. and my love of music i indeed inherited from my grandmother, so it was only natural i start playing an instrument.
when i was in the 3rd grade i joined the school band. and i use the word band loosely. it was 5 girls all playing the clarinet, save for me. i wanted to learn the flute. after a few weeks of being the only flute player, the only one who hadn't gotten the same instruction time as the 4 clarinets and the fact that playing the flute gave me a headache, i moved on the clarinet. by the end of my third week on the clarinet i knew all the scales and i as first chair. that's not really saying much when a band consists of 5 girls. but, by the time i reached junior high i was first chair clarinet, made all-state and all-city bands and loved music.
mr. chadwick was my junior high band instructor. while there he put me on to the bassoon during concert season. my grandmother was proud, but not to happy about those damned $10 reeds. cause if there was ever a child who went through reeds like i was breathing, that would be me. i remember the first time i played the bassoon, there was this deep resonating sound that vibrated in my chest, that made me instantly smile and think, ill play music for the rest of my life. that was my plan; to be a musician, to be in an orchestra. by the time i made it to high school, i once again had my original band instructor from elementary. he put me on to the saxophone and that soon moved on to the tenor and baritone saxophones. and for the next four years i played the sax during concert season and marching band. yes, i was in marching band... and i kicked some marching band ass...
i use to spend hours listening to songs i wanted to learn and being completely impressed that i could play by ear. i soon developed my own style while listening to jazz nonstop. i knew my scales like is was nobody's business and the only other extracurricular i loved more than music was tennis. and now, i play nothing. i still own my clarinet, ive never owned my own saxophone, bassoon, flute or trumpet. but i've rocked out on them. i own a guitar, but all i know are a few scales. the plan was to learn classical guitar... it still is... but the main reason for the guitar was to be a precursor to the cello. the cello, serves the same purpose as the bassoon. and it was bach's cello suites that sold me on how beautiful a voice the cello has... i once ventured into the cello suites via the bassoon after realizing they share the same voice. it was like being in love.
so now i listen to other people's amazing talent and miss those days of being the one behind the instrument. i still think at some point ill buy a student cello and give it a try. i can't think of anything else that would make a lazy sunday afternoon sweet.
so on to new music wednesdays...
ive been listening to a LOT of alan lomax. he's been a hero of mine for many many years and its nice to finally get a lot of complete cd's of his recordings. his southern exploration hits home for me... listening to old "colored men" on the prison chain gang is something to behold. another favorite of mine i came across about three years ago, the ethiopiques series. this is important because for many people, the first thing they think about when someone mentions ethiopia is starving children. but outside of the textured history, the fucking amazing food, there is a musical history that is just astounding.
alan lomax collection: the blues songbook (vols1 & 2)
alan lomax collection: prison songs (vols1 & 2)
alan lomax collection: hobart smith - blue ridge legacy
alan lomax collection: black appalachia string bands, songsters and hoedowns
alan lomax collection: black texicans balladeers and songsters of the texas frontier
ali farka toure: savane
blind boy fuller: east coast piedmont style
ethiopiques, vol. 14: negus of ethiopian sax
ethiopiques, vol. 21: ethiopian song
k'naan: the dusty foot philosopher
michael hurley: long journey
peter bjorn & john: writer's block
various artistsrio baile funk favela booty beats
sonny terry & brownie mcgee: 1958 london sessions
wilson simonal: alegria, alegria!!!
happy friday 13th
_posted in dayedayerocks | film | the world | 13 October 2006
tuesday, while walking across campus through the sculpture garden, i felt this ever so gentle swirling wind pushing at my back... it was one of those playful winds, that gently nudge you across bridges and through corridors, not the kind that push you forward abruptly and then disappear as quickly as they appeared. marina's class had just let out and it was one of those amazing classes where i leave feeling hopeful... hopeful that all the ideas and goals i have are within reach... that even if it takes time to reach said goals, its time well spent. after having one of the most unproductive summer's ive had in years, its been nice jumping back into the idea bag and getting the juices flowing... today is going to be another good day (although i woke up in a very pissy mood) because i start filming again. this is for the first assignment for the semester, but im hoping to be able to use some of the footage for my final project at the end of the year.
i forgot how completely amazing and wonderful it feels to stand behind a camera. it seems so strange to think that this could be my career. that i can, as marina puts it, do something that touches my heart, touches "the spot that you push and it hurts." being a filmmaker is an amazing thing. its like giving birth to something every time you pick up the camera, no matter how common or extraordinary the images you capture. i remember constantly thinking that maybe moving to los angeles was a mistake, how this whole filmmaking thing was a dream and should stay as such, never evolving into a reality. but damned if this wasn't probably the best decision i've ever made. two years of being away from family and friends, feeling very much a fish our of water and trying to just calm the fuck down and get a proper groove going has been a definite challenge. but something i wouldn't trade for the safety of back home.
_in other news
today is friday 13th and i was planning on watching some horror cheese, instead im going to watch one of my favorite films, in honor of gillo pontecorvo. pontecovo directed the battle of algiers and died yesterday at eighty-seven. if you've not seen this movie, it should be at the top of your list. the battle of algiers is an amazing piece of filmmaking and one of the best political movies ever made. It goes beyond the cliches and the propaganda. If only movies today with their grand ideas could achieve what this 40 year old movie is able to achieve on every viewing.
It hits my political g-spot and my sense of outrage and desire to understand the world. But most importantly it tells the story of algiers fight for independence from french colonization. The algerian struggle raised the standard of rebellion and was a watershed moment for the so called third worlds raising up against colonial rule. politics aside, its a great bit of filmmaking as well. with a score by ennio morricone, this is an example of cinema verite at its best. a documentary couldn't and wouldn't capture the romantic nature of the story, the push and pull of the language of the narrative film. you walk away feeling dazed and so unprepared for what the world is doing to itself; knowing that as a citizen of this madness, you have to take a side. no matter your view on armed rebellion or on nationalism, you walk away determined to pick a side and stick with your decision. and you do pick a side... you either accept the fact that innocent people in the streets of france are killed for a cause or you accept the fact that the french military is just doing its job; protecting the citizens and interests of france.
the interests of france, of england, of europe, of america, of the west has outweighed the interest of so many other countries and millions of people for so many years. colonization; neocolonization in the guise of globalization still makes sure that the interests of the few are looked after, while the majority sit in a pressure cooker. and you can't watch this film without finding parallels to mirror today's confusion.
_soundcheck: bob marley, natty dread
cigars, whiskey and friends...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 02 October 2006
so my deadwood day was not spent with al swedgin, but with the younger brother of seth bullock (pictures one day)... and it was kickass... there was a long drive down the pch, then through the santa monica mountains, and then the paramount ranch, and yes i know this ranch... ive seen all the westerns... im a fan of carnivale... so i know the score... and i completely had to restrain my western geekness in fear of of being a complete spaz... and i did at least win the first hand of poker, so i think that makes for some awesome...
welcome to fucking deadwood! i have to say that was the best birthday surprise i've had. whiskey! cigars! cowboys! whores! poker! and a few cocksuckers thrown in for good measure... id say it was a good fucking sunday...
_soundcheck: johnny cash, american iv: the man comes around
one year older...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 01 October 2006
one year older...
well september is over and im one year older... a few things i learned this month...
_01
you CAN get pulled over on the 10 for your back seat passenger not wearing his seat-belt
_02
saying "yea sure" to a cop can get you a beat down, silly ass... he's wearing a gun and a billy stick, which probably means the first person ever beaten down with one was named billy (probably not true, but i like that explanation). i think it should now be dubbed the gomez stick, cause i think its about time a certain mr. gomez gets his ass beat down for the EIGHT no seat-belt tickets he's gotten... im just saying...
_03
any ice cream with liquor is good... vanilla whiskey... coffee guinness... blood red orange wine sorbet... mimosa sorbet... anything... its all damned good and i think los angeles should have a SCOOPS day... im just saying...
_04
having dinner with your friends and their mothers is like being at home...
_05
jobs can really suck you dry if you let it... if you let it be your whole life and nothing else, you can so miss out... even if its just that personal time you save for yourself that you're missing out on... so its 8 hours a day... no more 18 hour days, no more of that overtime shit for me... if its not getting done in eight hours, you're going to have to wait, cause guess what, your blog about yourself and your extremely leftist, stupid and completely unimportant ideas means jackshit to me... oh, and i got another raise... hehehe...
_06
a co-worker lost his dad a few weeks ago... although i am no where near close to this guy i felt i needed to go and show my respects.. the fear of loosing my own parents weighs heavy these days... and his dad was born the same year as my grandmother... dear lord... tell me thats not suppose to make me crave a hug from my favorite person...
_07
antero also lost his dad after a protracted battle with leukemia. to say the least that hit me hard... antero is one of those people that you absolutely love cause of his unique way of seeing the world and just being able to talk about any and everything; from music to art to politics to literature to education to life... those people are rare... my being the emotional one that i am, i had to call or text all the people i loved back home... cause, truthfully you never know when this time will be the last time you talk to them, hug them, or just tell them they rock... and i can say ive been fortunate enough to know some amazing people, even when i was mad at them or when we weren't close for awhile... loving them through all that meant id always love these people... death sucks... and being on the phone with your grandmother crying, begging her not to ever die, that sucks even more...
_08
im a year older... no getting around that... this year's birthday was nice... autumn and carl threw me a party the saturday before... mark and parisa cooked dinner and made a cake for me on my birthday... just a reminder kids... DO NOT PUT THE CANDLES IN THE CAKE WHILE ITS STILL HOT... cause yes, the candle wax will melt into the cake... im just saying... it was a good cake mark, it was just a little retarded.... thats all... and the night ended with hooka at the local westwood hooka spot... id say this birthday was good... and later today is my SURPRISE birthday get together with mark and parisa, and who knows if there are others involved... i got three clues...
clue 1: a bandana with a post-it that read, "Clue #1: You will need this to wipe your 'Dirty' mouth..."
clue 2: "she wants me to tell you something pretty" in a conversation with mark over aim... so easy... the title of the last episode of deadwood... "tell him something pretty"
clue 3: literally a piece of dead wood...
obviously this has something to do with deadwood or its all a smokescreen... now if i were to hang out with al swearengen today... holy shit that would be the most awesome of birthdays ever... i wont even tell you about the dream i had about al swearengen... i wont do it...
anywho, on being older... my da called and SANG me happy birthday... which she's never done... and in the background i can her my grandfather saying, "she ain't that old... tell that girl she cant ever call me 'old man' again!" an hour later my favorite uncle called to sing me a song he MADE up about me, mojitos and being awesome... you have to love the old people... and my favorite auntie, the drunk called... love her... family... it makes me smile...
_09
my film class with marina started again on thursday... needless to say, its like flying; sitting in a room with other people just as passionate about film...
so its october... and its a new month... only three months left in this year... time has flown...
_soundcheck: abdoulaye diabate, bende
friends and family... friends who are family...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 08 September 2006
yesterday was a good day... i spent some time with mark and parisa's family, for the pre-wedding celebration... can i say that being in a room with those beautiful women completely makes me smile... all the mothers are about the same height, lovely, no where near shy and love to dance... i finally got to meet mark's brothers and i cant even imagine how his mom raised that crew... nothing but trouble!
im really excited about the wedding on saturday... no doubt mark and parisa are on my favorite people list... and not only because my grandmother adores them, but because they really make friendship something tangible. when my family were here they spent a lot of time with us and made such an amazing impression on the fam. Its nice to know that there are people who you can pull into more than one area of your life, people who are just as colorful and loud and outrageous as your family and they fit in just nicely.
congrats on the marriage... hugs and kisses... monkeys...
on another note... sp called to tell me that he's having a boy... how awesome is that... "one of each" as he puts it... i opt for the name jackson... just cause it's funny... a half asian, half white kid named jackson, born and raised in the south...
summertime is over... living was never easy...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 04 September 2006
well the summer is over... family came for three weeks... tiger! tiger! was in town for about a week... i accomplished nothing this summer... my goal list is still the same as it was before the summer started...
all my time has been spent on the job, dealing with hardware crashes, ridiculous methods of organization, horrible programming and people who feel they are entitled just because they wake up. eighteen hour days spent on shit you couldnt care less about makes you very grouchy and bitchy... needless to say, im near the breaking point with it all... my stress level is beyond unproductive... and id find it all funny if it weren't for the fact that im the fool in the middle of all this mess...
i took this past week off (a much needed break from the foolishness and fools) to prepare my mind for classes...but i decided i cant do classes this semester... there is too much stress and a feeling of "fuck this shit" in my blood right now to divert energies to classes and studying... so i spent a lot of time just going through old journals, photos and the like... i always get sentimental close to my birthday... im getting old, is all that means... these are two of my favorite photos... thought i'd share...
my favorite person... this is my da, my grandmother, back in the day... 1962 in panama...
this is me at my kindergarten graduation... nothing but trouble and attitude from the beginning... hands on hips... pursed lips... and nostrils flared...
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 n1, which i absolutely heart madly and deeply! thus africa, baby...
_soundcheck: konono n1, 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!
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
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
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...
chasing ghosts
_posted in dayedayerocks | 05 May 2006
i thought this was a wonderful interview of national guard lt. paul rieckhoff and executive director of the organization Iraq and Afghansistan Veterns of America. awesome interview and means even more to me this morning since i found out that my cousin gary is going back to iraq, YET again... i figure he's done his part, and yes its my selfish desire to have a cousin live a long life with his wife and son, not possibly being on of the almost 2500 soldiers we've lost so far... plus shit, he's down desert storm, he's done a tour in iraq already, but as my grandmothe tells me, "people kept making excusing not to go, so his turn is up." and i say, fuck that... he has a wife and a son, and he's gone more than once... so, why should he have to go again...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5382507
"how lovely"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 12 April 2006
1.23pm: "arrrggghhhh.... fuckers..."
1.24pm: "god damnit"
1.28pm: "i so hate this..."
1.30pm: "are you fucking serious... this can not be the way this is set up."
1.31pm: "man, this is stupid."
1.34pm: "how can i get 15 emails every 5 minutes, 15 legitimate emails every five minutes."
1.35pm: "fuckers"
1.37pm: move to bed, jump on bed, look up
1.38pm: "how lovely!"
1.39pm: realization that a rainbow should not be on my ceiling
1.40pm: jumps up, runs to hall closet, gets digital camera, rejoices in the wonderful rainbow on bedroom ceiling
1.41pm: aim phil to tell him there's a rainbow on my ceiling
1.43pm: move back to bed and take more pics of rainbow and giggle like a 5 year old
man, i needed that... you have no idea how badly that rainbow was needed... thank goodness for cds haphazardly placed under windows...
_soundcheck: the deadly snakes, porcella
public service announcement
_posted in dayedayerocks | 07 April 2006
if you have water delivered to your apartment by arrowhead, why are you leaving four huge fucking bottles in the common stair area that you share with your neighbor (me being said neighbor) for MONTHS? and im wondering how long you'll leave EIGHT bottles in the common stair area that you share with your neighbor (me being said neighbor), since you received a new delievery today?
now, am i wrong to knock on their door and ask them when they are going to move said bottles or should i just go ahead and ask the manager to deal with this assery... me being me... im giving them until sunday... and then im knocking on the door...
psa: do not be that asshole that is either too lazy or just too fucking stupid to know whats right and wrong...
im just saying... assholes made a good day, a tiresome day...
_soundcheck: salif keita, the manse of mali
new music wednesdays
_posted in dayedayerocks | new music wednesdays | 05 April 2006
alright lovely people... ive been listening to mostly african music all week and just feeling the love... a few other pieces thrown in for good measure... since i heart the kinks madly, i thought it just fitting to have ray davies' new SOLO project... and yes i do heart it as well, my fav "is there life after breakfast?"
cesaria evora: rogamar
cheikh lo: lamp fall
marvin gaye: here, my dear
ray davies: other people's lives
the flaming lips: at war with the mystics
yeah yeah yeah's: show your bones
_in other news
this morning while rushing yet again to get to work at some decent time i realized that my life will and has always been long to do lists, too many projects and a full plate. so i've given up complaining about it all... fuck it...
i have a midterm on saturday in film history and a midterm in archaeology the wednesday after next (that might as well be tomorrow)... so guess who has no time for bullshit... or drinking (damnit!)... or anything equally awesome and amazing... but who's fucking loving every minute of it... cause i am... and to end a hectic day with a great bit of news i made an A in my advanced editing class... AND im going to start working from home on wednesdays and thursdays... happy happy joy joy!!
so there... daye daye so rocks... hard core bitches...
hugs and kisses...
_soundcheck: the kinks, arthur (or the decline and fall of the british empire)
wannabe che guevaras
_posted in dayedayerocks | 03 April 2006
on friday i was suppose to film (i was told it was cool to do so) a student informational about the HR4437 student walk-outs, but it didnt happen because the UCLA RAZA Grad Student Association didnt want the event to be filmed. I wasnt the only filmmaker interested in filming. This latino brother asked one of the female members if he could film, and you should have seen the comedy that unfolded before my eyes. She went to another female member to ask her if it was alright for this cat to film, this girl then went to one of the guys, who then went to another cat, who then went to the same guy who told me "i dont think it should be filmed." it was like the fucking blind leading the blind. on top of this cat telling me "i dont think it should be filmed," he didnt have the courtesy to even speak to me... he just mumbled that shit under his breath in my general direction over his shoulder.
im down for the cause people, but fuck fake ass revolutionaries who cant stand behind their words and have that shit documented. if you cant stand behind what you say, then fuck off and be a poser somewhere else. dont talk about the "marchas" and being heard in the streets if you cant even let yourself be held accountable for your words to the youth...
i learned a really good lesson on friday... not everyone is going to be down for the documentation... and not every "revolutionary" is down for the right cause... its not always about being heard in the "marchas" but getting what they dont want you to have anyway; a good education, obtaining the real power to change things, and just being stronger where it counts... this shit is about the kids, not about black tshirts with red text and calling the cops "pigs"... grow the fuck up people... mark said it best, kids dont need to be in the streets, they need to be in the classroom.
on a positive note i did start filming for my documentary... mark as usual came through big time... him and nesanet are the two teachers im most interested in documenting... he's taking a gang of kids to the yosemite institute in a few weeks and of course he tells me this friday so there is no way i can get the week off to go film... i have no idea why he didnt tell me sooner (he claims he did, but mark is a big fat liar... just kidding...).. anyway, filming mark made up for the crap with RAZA... if you wanna talk about revolutionaries lets talk about teachers like mark, nesanet, pablo, andy, etc... i think thats exactly where my focus is shifting in terms of how i see the teachers in my documentary... real revolutionaries make sacrifices, real revolutionaries dont indoctrinate, but empower...
dont get me started... the world doesnt need a bunch of intolerant kids running playing at being che... either be che, be the individual who acts with conscious and heart or fucking get out of the way...
_soundcheck: santana, abraxas
she obviously swallows...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 30 March 2006
if you are in an archaeology class and the prof is talking about social organizations; bands, tribes, chiefdoms and states, dont raise your hand and say, "this may be off topic, but why dont we talk about dinosaurs?"
what the fuck just happened? this people, is the danger of going to a community college when you are past the stupidity of youth... and the prof, as well as every student in class shouts out "cause thats paleontology (you fucking moron surf kid!)"
after class one of my classmates told me about a lecture in her biology class. the prof was explaining that sperm whales produce a huge amount of sperm and proceeds to expound on the high sugar content in sperm. and of course, some dumb chick raises her hand and says, "well if sperm has so much sugar why isnt it sweet?" at which point the greatest professor ever says, without missing a beat, "you taste sweet on the tip of your tongue, not in the back of your throat!" so yes, you deserve to be embarrassed, turn red, start to cry and then run from the room...
_update
amin: that's so not true
amin: that's one of those urban myth emails that goes around
daye: about?
amin: about the chick asking the question
daye:prove it
amin: proof #1 proof #2
daye: awe
daye: i got got
amin: proof #3
daye: the archaeology one is real though
daye: i was in that class
amin: I wasn't sure if the second one was supposed to be real or not
amin: Dinosaurs probably had social organizatoins
daye: shut the fuck up!
amin: President T-Rex
amin: Vice President Brontosaurs
amin: Dude, I bet it's totally true
daye: youre banned!
amin: they probaby went extinct because of the congress of velociraptors cut medicare
daye: you truly are banned
_soundcheck: ben harper, both sides of the gun
"whats it all about?"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 28 March 2006
the other night mark asked me what my blog was suppose to be about.... and yes it has changed... it was SUPPOSE to be about photography, film, art, africa, the shit thats important to me... its evolved or de-evolved depending on your view point... but hey... its all me so that in essence means my blog is about the goodness that is daye... hehehe... laugh it up monkeys... hugs and kisses...
"my dear people"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 27 March 2006
my boy sp is going through his "meh phase." that phase where you're bored with everything, with most of the people you know, with the idea of what youre meant to do (even if there is something meant for you)... the phase i went through a few years ago, the phase that more or less helped me make my decision to leave atlanta and pursue -- pursue what i was born to do. and it may seem a bit pretentious to even say you were born to do something, but its possible and that scares me.
it scares me because i dont have time right now to build on my foundation... to just get better... to learn... ive painted myself into a corner with these outside projects and other people's issues, when all i want is to work on my own projects and become a better writer, artist, filmmaker... but i'm going through my "yes phase", where i cant say "no" to anything or even "maybe" or "let me think about it" or "hell naw"....running at full steam only makes for a daye on the raggedy edge, and no body wants that.
a few weeks ago i had a conversation with sp about hubert sauper, who came to my documentary film class. sauper is an amazing filmmaker who somehow got into my head and learned all my secrets and plans and is telling the world what he found there... he is the person i would be had i the courage to do it, to do what i was born to do... he spoke for three hours about "the responsibility of the filmmaker," about being a "human rights filmmaker," about his responsibility as a european who "lives off the back of africa." the entire time this man spoke i- i got closer and closer to what all this has been about... and i cant keep putting things in my way that are going to keep me from learning about being a better filmmaker, a better artist, a better human being, just better...
im not in that "meh phase" but i am definitely in that, "if that shit is going to take me further from my goal, let it go phase" aka "makin moves and shakin fools phase" if you will (and that was completely stolen, and no im not gonna give you credit!)... marina, my documentary film professor, starts pointed statements with "my dear people" in a very thick russian accent that makes me feel like my favorite auntie is about to whisper a nice little secret about life.
so... my dear people, if its not something that is going to make my foundation stronger, than its neither needed nor wanted... this my friends is the year of the foundation... there's only nine months left in 2006 and i think its fitting that in the amount of time it takes a human being to gestate is the amount of time i have to seriously start building a stronger foundation...
_in other news
stanislaw lem died today... it's time to reread something of his... all the greats are leaving us... just another reason to hold strong to the quality works they live behind... it seems as if there are no new masters to replace the ones we are losing... thats a sad thought... it seems as time progresses we're getting worse, not better...
_soundcheck: nick drake, made to love magic
tired... working... studying... and still trying to have a drink here and there...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 21 March 2006
i have a picture of this damn thing over my desk at work and home... keeping me on track...
_soundcheck: groundation, each one teach one
damn damn damn
_posted in dayedayerocks | 08 March 2006
i didnt even want to deal with this cause tonight was just a fucking amazing night, which ill detail tomorrow... but gordon parks has died... albeit he was 93 he was still a god of photography and film for me... a black man who fucking took his art to the world and i do believe helped change it for the better...
rest in peace brother gordon!
rest in peace ali farka toure
_posted in africa | dayedayerocks | news | 07 March 2006
this morning started off well... but this made me sad! ali farka toure has died... and if you dont know this amazing musician then you need to get to know him... he was one of the musician who help mold the blues (african blues not less!) for me over the years... so in honor of this beautiful man, its an all blues day... muddy waters, toure, john lee hooker, robert johnson, blind willie jonson, johnny guitar watson, johnny taylor, son house... shit its time for a new playlist... the blues!
alright people... stay up and find some inspiration... death can take your hand at any time... i suggest you have your hands full so that mofo cant get a good grip...
_soundcheck: ali farka toure, african blues
"mo money, mo money, mo money"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 06 March 2006
who just got a new job? who just got a phat new raise? and who just finished making the master shopping list for 2006?
ME!
the damned consumer that i am... cheers monkey... and i PROMISE ill post that dave chappelle shite soon and whatever else i've been half posting about in the last few weeks... um.. yea...
"i see black people"
_posted in dayedayerocks | 24 February 2006
sometimes i get really homesick, and i have to say tonight was one of those nights... there's something about the south that i never appreciated... on monday i cooked catfish and grits for a couple of friends and it felt more like home than the last couple of months... things are definitely progressing nicely in terms of my goals and such, but home is home... regardless of how great things are going home is still this intangible thing that tugs at you when you least expect it...
last month i bought tickets for my grandmother and her sister and brother to fly out to l.a. in july... there isnt a day the thought of my family coming out to visit doesnt cross my mind... its strange leaving behind people you've had in your immediate space all your life... even when i lived in atlanta i could drive home in a few hours, now its this whole production involved in just wanting to be able to sit in the den with my da (my grandmother) listening to music... you cant fly across the country just to spend a weekend in columbus...
i think that when im really busy and my time is sucked up i think about when i didn't have all this shit going on in my life and my biggest concern was just being a kid... at home...
on another note, came across this and thought id share...
i see black people by richard pryor
_quote
I've seen all kinds of black people
light skin porters
black skin caddies
red boned bus drivers
fat red cooks and maids
shiny brown skinned doctors
tinny cigar shaped whiskey salesmen
white skinned hustlers with gold in their teeth
fine yellow mamas in their all-girl band
I seen big black dudes cry while sittin' on the curb
in the rain
men and women spurting washed words of nothing
Ive seen dimple faced dolls with no brains
turn their noses at old black church ladies who
wash their floors
so these cold hearted bitches could wear lipstick
I seen preachers eat chicken with both hands
with their mouths already full
I watch men dying in gutters
spit on white ambulance drivers
But I ain't dead yet motherfucker.
dude!
_posted in dayedayerocks | 17 February 2006
dude this is insane! a marriage contract... this dude is insane!
_quote
Above your vaginal slit you can have; 1) A rectangle patch; that must be centered above your vaginal slit, it will have a length no greater than 3/4" the length of your vaginal slit, no wider than 1in; 2) Any other shape or design that is centered and above your vaginal slit, with an area of no greater than that of an equilateral triangle with a height of 3/4" the length of your vaginal slit; or 3) Completely or totally clean shaven. Regardless of which choice of shave, noncompliance is based on a #2 rate
and of course this cocksucker is into child pornography... assholes abound people...
dave chappelle
_posted in dayedayerocks | 16 February 2006
so tonight i watched the actor's studio, which i fucking ditched awhile ago cause james lipton had ben affleck on stage talking about being an actor... yea... um... no... ben affleck is an affliction, not an actor... BUT holy shit if dave chappelle didnt drop dimes tonight... i've loved this cat since the first time i paid attention... but now... fuck just loving this cat, i RESPECT this cat... more on that later... ill have a nice little treat for you monkeys after the long three day weekend... im missing the trip to mammoth this weekend so at least i can be productive...
_soundcheck: dave chapelle, killing them softly
gay p0rn
_posted in dayedayerocks | 16 February 2006
yes as the bitch, sp said... i do like gay p0rn, p0rn in general is good, but gay p0rn is great... so there... and damn you i just said add some asian and black chicks in your drawings... i like white girls... they're great make out partners...
"i am the color god painted the universe with"
_posted in dayedayerocks | education | film | 06 February 2006
ive been really busy dealing with issues at work and taking over the responsibilities of our fired web guy until they find a replacement... and damn if im not at all impressed by the last two people who worked on our webservers. i have NEVER dealt with worse configuration, code or architecture design.
today however started out well... took the first 15 minutes of the day to make my massive to-do list and if i've gotten more than half of this list tackled in the first three hours of work, but i still hate mondays...
i love fridays and the weekend... this weekend i watched some of my favorite movies and holy shit i've found a new movie to add to my list of goodness... The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade aka marat/sade... talk about dialogue...talk about the grotesque... talk about directing... talk about acting... talk about not wanting to take my eyes off the tv or miss a word... its definitely a love it or hate it movie... and i heart it madly and want to have its dialogue-tinged babies...
this morning i listened to some podslamming and damn if it didnt add fuel to my determined-to-be-productive-fire... my fav... panama soweto's ring...
_soundcheck: midnite, let live
busy
_posted in dayedayerocks | 31 January 2006
tons going on... ill update later this week...
_soundcheck: tupac, me against the world
i got aim schooled this morning...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 24 January 2006
daye: im sick again
chris: no. bad! no!
daye: i know... so i think im gonna miss this class today. i dont want to get anyone sick... or should i go you think?
chris: fuck making people sick. did you move out to california to look out for the well being of other? or to do something with yourself
daye: you are wise
chris: I'm just saying. its nearing two years
daye: damn chris
chris: and you are mentally making yourself sick
daye: dont be so harsh.
chris: so you won't have to face change
daye: wow. i dont even have words for that
chris: I have a word for it. bullshit. I'm completely pulling this out of my ass but you really should go to the class
daye: ok...
chris: unless I'm bed ridden with a fever I always go. a high fever. non of that 99 degrees bullshit
daye: ok.. its been awhile since ive done the school thing
chris: jobviously
daye: i need to get back on track and tighten it up
chris: jobviously
daye: well i just got schooled... 'preciate it
how is this possible!
_posted in dayedayerocks | 24 January 2006
so ive figured out why ive been so tired the last few days... im SICK!!! it's not even february yet and im SICK!!!! you would think after being sick SEVEN times last year that this year id get a break, but no.... i woke up at 1.30am with that very familiar itchy feel in my throat and the pressure in my ears... damn germ infested l.a.
something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
_posted in dayedayerocks | interactive narratives | 20 January 2006
let's face it, ive been NOTHING but lazy these first twenty days of 2006 and if there are two types of people i hate thats people who are lazy and lazy motherfuckers... so instead of going to photo l.a. as planned im spending this weekend organizing my overly unorganized life, begin preparing for classes next month and tying up lose ends...
and as i wrote the above i got an email confirming my sitting in on a documentary film class at ucla this quarter... with a fucking awesome FEMALE documentary filmmaker. needless to say, im beyond excited and just plain ready to start this damn journey of filmmaking... no more excuses or sidestepping... get it done or move beyond the dream...
_new interactive piece
celia cruz! holy shit... when did this happen... cause im in love with this woman... for those of you in d.c make your asses over to the national museum of american history for the exhibit: azcar! the life and music of celia cruz. it has been declared! this weekend is celia cruz day in casa de daye!
anywho, im listing some olds favorites in interactive narratives that i've been in love with since forever...
becoming human: this one was the first interactive narrative i can remember experiencing. i fell in love with it and the idea of it... this will always be the mark that all others are measured against
churchill and the great republic
price of freedom: americans at war
_soundcheck: stars, set yourself on fire
"it has survived wars, prisons, and strife"
_posted in art | dayedayerocks | photography | 17 January 2006
so those who know me know that im a fan of viggo mortenson's art and photography... so i was rather jazzed to see his new exhibit (with georg gudni) at track 16 in santa monica this saturday. so the show started at 6pm and by 6.15 we walked out... i was seriously disappointed by the work and by the presentation of the work... the photography is part of a book called "for wellington" and its compromised mostly of movement and light... which is great if it's "light and motion #3" in photography 101 at university x or some shit like that... some of the pieces were HUGE, as in six feet tall and for no reason. i just felt this overwhelming sense of coldness from them, nothing more... there were a few pieces that stood out, only because the other pieces weren't necessarily able to stand on their own merit... then in the third and final and smallest room were various series of what looked like pin hole camera shots that were absolutely beautiful... black and white pieces... the composition, the depth of field, the fact each individual piece fit with the other pieces in its series, made for good art viewing... why these pieces were pushed in the back room and last to be seen, i dont know... but most of my 15 minutes was spent there.
thank god that the patricia correia gallery also had an opening that night, and we were able to walk across the way and enjoy some fucking art. correia gallery only shows mexican-american and chicano/a art and damn if it wasn't fucking great. there were pieces by three different artists and they all held this visceral quality about them (which most of mortenson's pieces lacked).
i've never heard of gronk until that night, but a coworker told me his mom bought tons of his stuff in the seventies at mexican flea markets and shit for almost no money... and damn if i didnt just love his pieces... they really evoked reactions, some on several levels... the santa fe reporter has an interview with gronk (art director) and peter sellars, the director of the opera ainadamar.
_quote
East LA-born artist Gronk is an exquisite rebel, part of a clique of avant-garde Chicano artists in the late 1960s that avoided the clichs of macho nationalism. A queer, a painter more informed by I Love Lucy reruns than Aztec pyramids, an organic political activist with a sharp wit, I imagine Gronk what Oscar Wilde would have been like if hed lived through our years of plague and reaction.
gaspar enriquez's piece, La Patsy, Los Homeboys, y Bush, is definitely an interesting piece. more so, because the order of the pieces can be changed about, as well as props added, like the brown sacked libation... enriquez says, "One is born a Mexican-American, but one chooses to be a Chicano, Politically charged, the Chicano lifestyle has been passed from one generation to another. It has survived wars, prisons, and strife." i hear you brother...
and my favorite of the three, Xavier Cazares Cortez!
chicano prayer wheels anyone? how awesome is this... and yes i did spin the hell out of the "just a little bit louder now" prayer wheel.... cause damn if it can ever be loud enough... or fast enough or angry enough or high enough... his collage of pieces were just amazing... my favorite of course, "don't Tell GgoD your plans"
the time spent in the correia gallery was definitely time well spent... and i left with a nice little piece of merchandise... no, no artwork (which would have been fucking nice), but i did purchase the saddest place on earth by camille rose garcia. it is currently the book of feature on the new coffee table...
flickr pictures from the exhibit
_soundcheck: bob marley, kaya
too bad...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 13 January 2006
too bad my boy sp is no longer collecting vinyls any more... cause i like the blowupdolls enough to do some sharing... oh well... hehehehe...
"yes, ill take the front row of hell, please."
_soundcheck: sly & robbie, african roots on my new black video ipod (my one WANT for the year)
money does a soul some good...
_posted in dayedayerocks | education | news | 11 January 2006
last night i finally got this freelance check ive been waiting on for a minute... not just waiting on passively, but actively making LISTS of things to buy... i mean serious lists, people... not just random shit i've wanted for awhile, but a notepad file filled with links to specific items i didnt need until now, now that i have extra paper to burn...
it's funny how moving to l.a. and being on the edge of broke every month changed my need list. how things that were a mandatory at home; a new cell phone every year, comic books, gadgets and tons of magazines were the essentials. i can't remember the last magazine i bought, or book for that matter. sitting in the bookstore reading a magazine from cover to cover is not a shameful thing and hell what else is the research library for, but to check out all the books i thought i needed to buy.
and after opening that letter and seeing that check, i really dont want to spend any of it... but i know i have to, cause not having furniture is no longer an option... and my ikea short sofa is killing my fucking neck... so it's off to spend a chunk of change on furniture and other needs.
_in other news
i missed seeing jonathon kozol speak at antioch university, cause i was trying to pack for my trip home the night of the event back in november... i love this man on so many levels. if you havent read his essays or his books, you're missing a lot of great information. kozol is an amazing force when it comes to the commentary of america's educational system. his criticism of the educational system and his very honest dialogue of race in the system is very necessary for a bureaucracy that needs to be torn down completely and rebuilt from the ground up.
i found this great mp3 from a counterspin interview over at fair.org... take a LISTEN!
_soundcheck: michael rose & sly & robbie, x uhuru
random encounters...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 04 January 2006
so it's a new year and i still marvel at times that i live on the opposite side of the country... insane... there are certain things that more or less make a place home to me... one of the most important, is the random encounter... you know, you're driving down the street and you decide to stop at store x and while there, friend y walks up to you... then you plan something to do later that night or tomorrow night or whatever...
i figure that it would take another year before that happened here, cause i only know a few people, but it's all about quality not quantity people... anyway, while at the gas station at 9.30pm new year's eve, some guy walks up behind me, grabs me and says "daye."
"who the hell is this!?!" and i turn around and it's andy. i know andy... omg i just had a random encounter... i just had my first random encounter... i so live in l.a. now! forget the high rent, the cost of gas, the beaches, ucla, none of that really made it as real as my first official random encounter!!! and from this random encounter, greatness ensued and new year's was spent with some cool l.a. kids and a friend from home... arie and his new bride, ariela (i know, too cute)...
four days down and 361 days to go...
_soundcheck: beres hammond, music for life
_posted in dayedayerocks | 22 December 2005
the up side of the valley...
i spent last night having a really great meal with the TA from the class i taught as a visiting professor, and his family. i've only driven out the the valley a few times and holy shit if its not like driving to hell and back... so i avoid the valley at all costs... last night was definitely the upside of the valley...
jeff (my friend), diego, his six year old school, and i walked the natural trail in some huge lovely park that smelled of sage... diego took pictures of geese, egrets and various other large water fowl... in each lookout area a large compose was etched in the stone... jeff asked diego to show us a right angle in the circle, then an obtuse angle, then an acute angle, then a 180degree angle... how amazing is this little guy... him and his father were reading the Sir Cumference children's books. How amazing are these? I read two last night and i'll be damned if it wasnt a nice little refresher on basic geometry.
two red wines and five stoli and gingerales later...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 15 December 2005
i'm not hung over, but damn if i dont want to sleep the rest of today. and tomorrow. and this weekend.
_soundcheck: rebirth brass band, main event: live at the maple leaf
why!?
_posted in dayedayerocks | 11 December 2005
why have i started playing warcraft again... why!? its not like i dont have stuff to work on... its not like i can afford to play warcraft from 6.30am - 12.45pm... not. that. i. did. that. this. morning. :-/
"black love brown pride"
_posted in dayedayerocks | los angeles | 09 December 2005
this morning i broke my regular routine and listened to music on the way to work today... and who did i blast from palms to westwood you ask... tupac, doing it l.a. style... to live and die in l.a. and there are two lines that put last night's conversations into perspective...
_quote
Cause would it be LA without Mexicans? Black love brown pride and the sets again
coming from blacklanta, um.. i mean atlanta, to a city where i'd be lucky to see any brothers or sisters in a the span of a week, has definitely been an experience to say the least... don't get me wrong, my grandmother always said my various groups of friends were my very own rainbow coalition, blacks, browns, yellows, whites... so shit im down for whatever set, as long as mofos are cool...
but living in "diverse" los angeles means im not living in the mix of diversity. it's funny how diversity really means segregated here in los angeles. if you want to see black people, you need to drive to lamert park, inglewood or crenshaw. and while latinos are everywhere (i love a place where any national minority is almost 50% of a city's population) you still have to drive to their neighborhoods if you want to experience latino culture.
one of the first people i met here in l.a. is half mexican and half panamanian... im sure both of us being half panamanian is what made us connect more than anything else. ever since i was a kid i've had a stronger connection to the latino/caribbean part of my culture. although im jonesing for the black side of l.a., im sure loving the brown side just as much. when i first got to l.a. it was obvious how culture works here, how black and brown are even purposely sectioned off from one another, and how they both are sectioned off from hollywood.
today this is a big deal, cause i got an email from a friend who's a teacher at santee high school in south central los angeles. and yesterday marked " the second day of the Santee High School Riots." the news would have you believe its a black vs. brown war, but like all things, media reduces the complexity of the issue which makes it easier to generalize and misinform. below is some of what my friend has to say... take a minute to read the full email.
_quote
Santee was opened way too soon and the problems at Jefferson were not solved but transferred over to Santee. It opened to soon in the sense that there was no discipline plan safety plan in place, It opened up with 15 substitutes, staff had little training on how to conduct sensitive human relations issues. There is an amassing amount of racism on campus from teachers on to students. Students have complained numerous times to me personally and many complaints have gone unreported because as students say, "Ain't nobody going to do nothing." Moreover the students themselves have internalized hate and all too often used to fuel hatred toward violence against one another.
_update
chris: blacklanta?
chris: come on
daye: hehehe
daye: it is blak
daye: hehehe
daye: dude its one of the blackest cities in the country
daye: you come on
chris: that doesn't mean it should be called blacklanta!
daye: hehehe
daye: thats why i said... um... atlanta
chris: lets change africa to blackfrica while we're at it
daye: ive heard white people say that... thats why i love it
daye: they were complaining...
daye: "fucking blacklanta"
just to give you an idea of the friends i have...
_posted in dayedayerocks | 05 December 2005
this is from october 7th... i was being my usual charming self over aim and for some reason this came through direct connect... i tell you this boy is crazy... and the fact that i just barely lost to w, makes me sad... sad i tell ya...
more pictures from re:birth
_posted in dayedayerocks | 30 November 2005
well it only seems fitting that i got a hold of more pictures from the re:birth exhibit today, seeing that today is the last day (as they say, thirty days has september,
april, june and november, sp)... so make your way over to the shutterbook photo album for re:birth... one more person to track down in hopes of getting more pics...
_in ronen news
ronen, which is one fourth me and which i heart, has opened commonwealth, so if you're interested in buying some sweet art, sanithna has some really nice pieces for sale... make your way over to the commonwealth! do. it. now.
_soundcheck: frou frou, details
i'm back
_posted in art | dayedayerocks | film | interactive narratives | music | news | photography | the temple | web | 15 November 2005
well, on a bed of california stars is back, since ive been told several times i need to start it back up and i am tired of sending out emails, so here it goes...
two week vacations are freakin' long! i feel like i was in georgia for a whole month. re:birth, my first exhibit, was a blast! pictures are up hoping to add more once i can track them down.
finally finished reading, on photography by susan sontag, while sitting in airports on saturday (as in the whole day saturday). previous to sontag's passing in 2004, i had only read one of her writings, notes on "camp," which i found to be very entertaining.
there are tons of passages from on photography that do it for me, but i think these are the most interesting...
_first quote
Nobody ever discovered ugliness through photographs. But many, through photographs, have discovered beauty. Except for those situations in which the camera is used to document, or to mark social rites, what moves people to take photographs is finding something beautiful. (The name under which Fox Talbot patented the photograph in 1841 was the calotype: from kalos, beautiful.) Nobody exclaims, "Isn't that ugly! I must take a photograph of it." Even if someone did say that, all it would mean is: "I found that ugly thing. . . beautiful."
if any photographer made the ugly beautiful, it was diane arbus.
_second quote
A photograph that brings news of some unsuspected zone of misery cannot make a dent in public opinion unless there is an appropriate context of feeling and attitude. The photographs of Mathew Brady and his colleagues took on the horrors of the battlefields did not make people any less keen to go on with the Civil War. The photographs of ill-clad, skeletal prisoners held at Andersonville inflamed Northern public opinion-against the South. (The effect of the Andersonville photographs must have been partly due to the very novelty, at the time, of seeing photographs.) ... Photographs cannot create a moral position, but they cnn reinforce one -- and can help build a nascent one.
regardless of one's views on the war in iraq, final salute is a very touching piece, and most definitely an "unsuspected zone of misery." there is a great deal of "appropriate context of feelings and attitude" on both sides of the debate on iraq.
_another quote
Photographs may be more memorable than moving images, because they are a neat slice of time, not a flow. Television is a stream of underselected images, each of which cancels its predecessor. Each still photograph is a privileged moment, turned into a slim object that one can keep and look at again. Photographs like the one that made the front page of most newspapers in the world in 1972 -- a naked South Vietnamese child just sprayed by American napalm, running down a highway toward the camera, her opens open, screaming with pain--probably did more to increase the public revulsion against the war than a hundred hours of televised barbarities.
(nick) ut cong huynh's image of a "a naked South Vietnamese child just sprayed by American napalm, running down a highway toward the camera, her opens open, screaming with pain." Winner of the World Press Photo, 1972. a portion of the "hundred hours of televised barbarities."
_in other news
the uc system's investment committee voted to divest from sudan! the recommendation goes to the board of regents in january for an up or down vote.
well it's started... i have no idea where this damn thing is suppose to go or exactly what it's suppose to be... but hey... who doesnt want lay their heavy head tonight on a bed of california stars
_soundcheck: cat power, the covers record
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