Life is quite sweet sometimes isn't it...?

An adorable dance company named Under One Dances (founded by Kyla Ernst-Alper) proposed folks send in choreographic ideas for 1 minute #TweetDances to be performed at this year's #Figment Festival on Governors Island in New York. 

I thought...what the hey...I'll play.

They ended up using the idea and here's what they did...performed by Meladonna.  
So sweet.




#TweetDance: Meladonna dances "giving in to love..."
from Kygwen on Vimeo. Meladonna
Figment, Governors Island, New York, NY

@SeBiArt:
'giving in to love...again'

At the start, every 15 seconds, and at the end of the 1 min dance - cup one hand in the other (gesture of offering) and then
cup it over your heart. (so the gesture would happen 5x)
For the whole piece - Improv a movement story of heart break followed by a heart riZe to love in between each gesture.
-To learn more about Meladonna visit http://www.underonedances.com/#!meladonna/c1zp

Taking A Piss, part deux

And who knows how many more examples there will be.  No matter - as long as it's this good I'll take it. 

Remember the stupid saga of Donald Trump demanding the President provide the long-form proof of birth ...which ended with the hysterical shaming by our said President at the 2011 White House Correspondents dinner?  Well the Donald couldn't stop there could he?  I would have.  Most of us would.  This idiot then moved on to demanding the President prove his university attendance!  Now of course none of this is worth of our time...if it wasn't so damn funny!  If you're looking to procrastinate a bit with some light entertainment - follow the trail below - all the way to Bill Maher's most excellent take down Real Time monologue ever. 


some background on Politico with all relevant video clips here. 
 

Report of filed suit by Trump against Maher on Gawker:

Maher pushes”the Donald” up to the stupidity podium like none other.  5 minutes of BRILLIANT comedic writing and delivery that should end the nonsense...right? Too late either way - the Donald's idiocy is of general acceptance apparently that even MacArthur Fellow Michael Dickinson recently alluded to it his in TEDTalk presentation on "How A Fly Flies"[at 6:10...] - lol!!!

Real Time With Bill Maher Episode 271 New Rules (by Buzz Sourse)








RELATED JOURNEY POST:

Taking A Piss (May 2011)

Nature Nurtures; with a Ku

Not simply drinking,
This important peaty work
Watering the muse

Haiku by Mystic Urchin

APRIL  2010

Way back in February (I can't believe it's June already!!) I was taken on an incredible drive up to the Blue Mountains and I'm only now posting my notes about it.  Still, I can't gush enough about the renewing effect of that fresh clean air high above the heat and smog of Kingston, with breathtaking views of nearly untouched land.   It was quite  heavenly, and I absolutely aim to do this again when I return to Jamaica. 

It's simply a place of modest communities (Irish Town, Hardware Gap, Greenwich...) scattered with beautiful bed and breakfast cabins, private homes, and quaint cafes,  all hugged in a cozy blanket of fog and lush flora.

There were breathtaking views of tree fern covered valleys, bright green moss wrapped trees, and quite a bit of non-tropical botanical varieties to my surprise, with pine covered mountainsides, and flower gardens much like you would find in Oxford, England! And that said, there is quite a significant community of British expatriates living up there.

A week after my trip I stumbled upon a Kuya Magazine issue with an article about Greenwich, and a cover photo of the same house I captured here, beautifully shot on a sunny day by  Franz Marzouca. It was still on the shelves  when I left in May, so grab it if you can find it - the full photo spread is quite magnificent.

click for larger view

Here is a mini list of what I found (and aim to check out when I return):

FLORA: 

Tree ferns, pines, orchids, sunflowers, ginger lilies, bright green moss  (I think it was spanish moss - but don't quote me on on that...), and quite a bit more - the names of which escape me now. 

BIRDS:

wood pecker, hummingbirds

CAFES/EATERIES:


Gap Cafe - where I ate coconut creamy rice and peas, with 3 pepper spiced yellow curry steamed fish, and a thick slice of homemade carrot cake.  and yes, the blue mountain coffee was stella!

Others I hear worth checking out are Cafe Blu, IMZ Cafe, and Mount Edge (thanks Steve!)

INDUSTRY: 


Catherine's Peak water, Jamaica Coffee Board (Blue Mountain Coffee), Craighton Coffee Estate (tours available), Strawberry Hill Hotel and Spa, and private rental homes and cabins are available - like the one pictured above. 

ARMY BASE:

foto by Jamdiver

Jamaica Defense Force  (JDF)

 

TRAILS and TOURS:  

-The Mountain Peak Trail 
(starting at Abbey Green)
I HAVE to do a hike one day...

    -Holywell Nature Reserve

     -Old Tavern Coffee Estate

Nabes with cabin homes and B+Bs for getaway rentals:

Irish Town

Hardware Gap 

Holywell

Greenwich
Whitefield Hall

If you have a free weekend and sometime to research a tailor made trip for yourself, do it!  It's the rejuvenating gift that keeps on giving. And please let me know what you find - so I can make a list for my next trip!

For way more additional info - check out:
-YardEdge and read up on their tale of hiking to the top.

RELATED JOURNEY POSTS: 

-> The Lady Lunches, and Lunches, and Lunches...(March 2011)

-> SOLE OF REDEMPTION: Majesty of the Little Things (May 2010)

Colorado Boxes

suburban subdivisions of greater denver - slightly bigger boxes...

foto by SeBiArt - found object piece by Carlos Michael Finn/KANON Gallery, Denver, Colorado

Prick the 'filter bubbles'

Aim to discombobulate the organizing algorithms of amalgamated trivial feeds: 





RELATED JOURNEY LINKS:

Some talk about a new project ...'BRANDED' (May 2010)

 

Taking A Piss

I do not purport to be a spoofer, satirist, graphic designer, or anything of the like - but I just can't get over the slick timing of the events in the news over the past 2 weeks.  

From all that nonsense with the presidential hopeful Donald Trump, and his rude, baseless, and thoughtless time wasting insistence on getting proof of Barack Obama's birth place; to the disappointing  concession of said proof.  And then, the hysterical and painful slamming of Trump with college haze-like 'you-think-you-can-handle-this-town?' jokes from both Seth Meyers(SNL Head Writer and Cast Member) and Obama at the Whitehouse Correspondence Dinner (PLEASE watch if you somehow missed that...nonstop hilarity); and finally the ultimate, can I say, 'trump card' issuance less that than 48 hours later - the Obama got Osama/You Can't Touch This bitch slap.  

I don't think I've ever seen someone punked to this level ever,  with absolutely no chance of a comeback.  I mean - wow.   It's possibly the funniest and sexiest thing I've ever seen a current president do - to sweep aside a spoiled, rich and bossy hopeful with absolutely no real political agenda, and just a self centered schtick.  

In the latest news: Trump just announced an hour ago that he will not run for President in 2012 - ahahahaaaa  -  bye bye Donald.  Apparently politics and real estate development ain't the same business bitch.  lol 

 

So a friend of mine (thanks for the 'aha' Mark!)  mentioned Wag the Dog when we were going over the whole thing, and that got me all tickled about making a spoof poster of the film.  Of course so much has happened (and is happening) since then, but I had to put this up here for posterity, joining CNN, BBC, ABC, et al in going on and on and on about this...                                                                                            
(Click the image to see details in bigger copy)

In case you missed it by some unfortunate mishap - the jokes:

The Lady Lunches, and Lunches, and Lunches...

To supplement a wretched week of reality bites, I've been breaking up the madness with some sweet foodie pauses around town this week with some buddies. Just when I get to the edge and think its time to fly outta here - Kingston gets sweeter.

 

First Stop - Cafe El Centro @ 8 Hillcrest Avenue

We had quite the yummy seafood gumbo, sandwiches, tea, and cookies,

all for the sum total of about $12!! Run there!

 

 

Next stop, just downstairs - the newly opened Uncorked.  A godsend really, since I'd been complaining endlessly about not finding anywhere to get my cheeses.  Well they have quite the selection of wine and a yummy cheese list that extends BEYOND smoked gouda, goat cheese logs, and gruyere.  

 
 For those of you who tweet - you can follow them here:
http://twitter.com/uncorked_ja

 

 
So not that anything's wrong with those selections, but I was happier than a pig in shit to sup on my purchases of Cantalet, Mahon, and Comte - along with smoked Marlin, and other pairing goodies. Yum! Such discoveries continue to endanger my commitment to board a return flight to New York...eek!

 

Met up with my darling Karin (YardEdge) at Suzie's Bakery - a sweet cafe with good coffee, sinful pastries, sandwiches, and Mediterranean fair. 

 

There are two locations: one in Orchid Patch Plaza at 20 Barbican Road, and the other in shops 1 & 2 Southdale Plaza on South Avenue.

 


Just had a super creative meeting with my BFF Steve Urchin (Brand New Machine Global) - looking a bit funny in this shot, and talented sound engineer/composer, Sawandi, at Bookophilia - a sweet bookshop with yummy cupcakes, cookies, and a great reading selection from local and international authors.

 
 Located at 92 Hope Road, Suite 1

 
 You can also look 'em up on their Facebook group page
and fan page

 

 

After such treats I'm REALLY excited about the weekend.  

Loving my Jamaica. 

Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Walking Impressions for Inspirational Flight, with a whole lotta Leica

Back in October that photographer friend of mine I recently posted about, Christian Macauley, and I spent a day getting inspired. First he met up with me at the PDN Int'l PhotoPlus Conference and Expo at the  Jacob Javits Center. It's a sort of capitalistic-anxiety-inducing-soul-sucking-goodie-coveting-"shit-I'm-poor"-yet-thoroughly-exciting event where you get to look, touch, test, and learn about the latest photo, video, printing, and  software tools, as well as marketing services newly available to image makers. 


Armed with my floor map and exhibitor list - off I went for my industry  education and the free goodies! I'd hoped to sit in on a seminar or two but the whole thing got a bit overwhelming after a while, so off we went. 

Composite Source: YellowKorner

Christian took me walking through SoHo and we stopped in this pop up gallery set up by YellowKorner, a British company specifically aimed at making photographic prints more accessible to buyers of lesser means than trust fund babies.  Pop up galleries are the coolest concepts I think - they are to visual artists what low cost old warehouse spaces and self-publishing programs are to musicians...in a way: prime spaces (on short n' free or barter loans, or leases) to exhibit work in a gallery setting, sans the politics and prohibitive costs or commission fees for the artists.  

Anyway - there were some great prints on display, but one image/artist, Kourtney Roy, held me spellbound and sent me rushing to the nearest bench, to jot down my reactions in my little journal that I carry with me at all times.  Since photography is typically prohibited in exhibition spaces - I needed to write something to remind me of this work and what I felt upon seeing it.   I am thoroughly moved by artists who can produce a simple image that induces complex emotions or projections from the viewer.  I felt her image accomplished this perfectly - or at least, it did so for me... and the fact that it was a self portrait killed me all the more.

 



Heart reaching into the 'guess' of an event 

- prior - now - or about to happen,

The hanging pause of the story of two...

Who falls, who catches, who fails, who saves?

Deal, Dare, or Damage?

Is there Death, Ownership, or Love?

Another stop along the way was a thing of wonder, a prime example of reasons to LOVE LOVE LOVE New York: The Levi's/Leica Workshop.

 

 Located where the Deitch Project used to be, :(, Levi's®, along with sponsorship by Leica, opened up a temporary space for photographers to utilize an incredible wealth of equipment PLUS studio space...FOR FREE!!!

photo & logo composite: http://workshops.levi.com

The list of cameras included the Nikon D series, the Canon EOS-D series, and of course a range of film and digital Leicas - including the  $30,000 monster body Leica Camera AG S2 and  fitted with the Summarit-S 1:2.5/70 mm lens. Other vintage/film cams on hand were the Hasselblad 500 series and the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. There was an open white studio space, plus a cheesy basement set - both of which you could use with your choice of Profoto monolights, modifiers, and power packs; make up stations for M.U. artists and models; MAC G5 work stations with 30" screens for post-production work; and printing stations for fine art prints, etc.  It was QuiTe incredible.  All you had to do was sign up in time, book the space, and the camera you wanted to use, and voila!  No deposits even (while in house)!  The insurance on this friggin deal must have been INSANE!  You could even sign out cameras to shoot on location - for a mere $100 refundable deposit for 24 hours! 

Wha-HUH????!!!!!  

photo source: Camera Monster

I thank my lucky panties that I got to squeeze in two sessions before it got too crazy in there.  I opted to shoot with the Leica S2 which I couldn't believe was available both times.  And you know - I couldn't take myself too seriously with it all. I decided, rather than to use this opportunity for work, to just have fun; so I called up some friends to 'shoot the shit' - hahaha. No major planning, no stress, just show up to the studio where all was on hand PLUS the Bentley of cameras in my hand (that creates images with pixels the size of a fucking fist ), and here's the silliness we got up to: some friendly portraits, fashion fun with an African feather headdress (JuJu hat), and a music bubble session Las Vegas 70s style - heeeheee.  Gotta love New York!  Thank you Christian!!! And thanks Michael, LaLa, Justin, Yolanda, Manny and Kevin!! It's all coming back to me now - I CAN'T BELIEVE I shot with that thing! :D

Michael Gilbert, founder of Language of Opposites

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