Paging Batman! Gotham is spiralling!

I've been saying to people that if we are not careful - he may just win - there are enough voting jackasses to ensure as much.  Maybe that's a bit of a panic - but most of America's voters cast their ballot as applause for entertainment, not from long deliberation as to what is best for the country as a whole.  Yes I said it. 

I have not publicly engaged in much fodder about this bored, entitled, ego-maniacal, racist, misogynistic mad man - simply because I don't want to add to the popular energy vibrations he keeps attracting with every post we share. But for real guys - if you like ANYTHING that has changed in the world in the last 4 years and wish for the world to keep those changes - WAKE THE FUCK UP and fill your platforms with talk about candidates who will keep us evolving rather than devolving. 

Remember puppet President Bush spoke exactly about taking us to Iraq for war ON his campaign trail. I remember that very clearly and was not at all surprised when the September 11th tragedy segued straight to that.  At least it can be said there was organized madness behind that though - most of which Bush had no control over.  

Don't laugh at this dude though and what you hear him saying. Take him VERY seriously. He's an idiot to some - but he's no idiot really - he understands how to entertain the fear-mongering and the ignorant; he knew very well he'd succeed in Alabama to add to his political engine. And now the supremacists are all hoopty-do excited about him.  He states the Bible as his favorite book as a (transparent) means of promoting his own "second favorite" book.  

While I was in Washington DC a couple months ago I drove past one of his newer real estate acquisitions - the Old Post Office located at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue - a convenient new office location.  

The man truly believes anything can be bought and reorganized according to his rogue whims.  Luckily he's a real liability to the Republican party.  They don't like rogue.  They're still trying to shake off the Bush years, the Tea Party, and Palin.  He's done the rest of us a favor - by reminding us that half of America would rather tank the country on account of discriminatory ideals of capitalistic, imperialistic, racist motivations than to grow this nation according to its ONE solid ideal stated in the constitution: We the People.  And at this point one thing is quite clear… ANYone else right now looks better than this Joker.

Update Dec 2015: Perspective Update from the BBC

The Scary Business of New Beginnings...

They say you should do something that scares you everyday… Well, check!!

Moving they say is among the top traumas a person can experience, and prior to a couple weeks ago - this whole business of moving out and giving up everything I own was a great conversation piece that inspired only release and celebration...and zero fear.  Then suddenly one day recently, that all changed.  Everyday since has been an exercise in recalling the meditative and spiritual work of this year - and remembering to breathe.  The challenging asanas I've pushed myself in yoga all year to do, I call on now as practice in the asana of release.  Funny that I find myself clinging so tightly now just as I'm about to let go. 

I heard Rev. Bacon say in an interview with Oprah last week that change is like the tumult in a plane.  Pilots explain that when the craft is about to break through the sound barrier the cockpit shakes the most and the body of the craft is at its most unstable.  I love this.  Kind of like the constricting  trauma of the birth canal before air and light; but this new analogy is serving me right now. I'm breaking through the sound barrier - my apartment is the cockpit, and I'm wanting to grip for security before releasing to the cruising altitude on the other side.   Deep and interesting process to observe on a daily basis.  

I'm now at the 2 week mark and I FEEL my body poised and sharply focused on the task at hand.  There is not a single moment for renegotiation left.  It's do or bust. And I'm doing this most involved work WHILE preparing for immediate travel and 3 exhibitions!  Of course.  Hahaha.  But stoop sales are the biggest 'DO' right now and I don't particularly enjoy them because I feel like I'm in a fish bowl brandishing my panties for the world to stare at!  That said - I've been ushered prior into this process by the presence of friends and family so I could get my feet wet.


But unlike those other days where we've had mini impromptu stoop parties, today I had my first solo stoop sale and it was not only a real physical work out, but a true test of breathing away the histrionics, overcoming the fears and getting necessary work done.  I set this all in motion when I decided to release my life here in New York,  and so I have to go through these logistics - which are hardly as romantic as the reasons or the stories behind them. 
       
So...I didn't have the hand holding today that  my little heart yearned for, but such conditions yield deep spiritual truths about where to hold energy and how to stand in an exposed vulnerable space with your center in tact.  It's not easy watching people assess the worth of your belongings...that for you  are so rich with sentimental value.  But with each breath, I experienced the liberty that this entire move is ushering me towards.  And added to that, I was called and visited by sweet souls all day who delivered gems of deep encouragement for this soul work.  Even the guys in the clothing store across the street watched my stuff for me when I had to walk away or show someone my stuff for sale inside the apartment. It's remarkable how sweetly held I was by strangers and new neighbours and passersby who questioned and then celebrated my reasons for my move. It emboldened my sense of courage to continue, to sit in my fish bowl and get about the business of releasing my things, my emotional attachments, my fears, my ego...

These moments are the practice for when I am untethered and on my way to Sierra Leone at the end of the year.   This is the TRUTH right here.  Wow.  Yemaya. 

Humbled • Scared •  Determined • Grateful. 

Jamrock Talk, Jamrock Walk

Got a few posts building up in me and while I'm getting all caught up in drafting them... the weeks are going by.  So forgive the slight incongruity here - but I need to quickly put up a couple of thoughts and 'shares'.

As some of you know for the past few years - and stemming out of my public school teaching experience with ALATetc and Art for Progress -  I've been working in a volunteer capacity to create educational art workshops/community projects with a couple of organizations; namely CITYarts, Studio 174, and INSCAPE Foundation.  It's all been a bit slow, but the relationships built have been steady and consistently inspiring.  My 'fave orgs' you see listed always in the sidebar is a record of my alliances thus far, and new to the list is Save Our Jamaica - founded by a most passionate soul and loyal Jamrocker - Raxann Chin.   

foto by SeBiArt

Raxann and I have partnered in deep conversation and intention to merge our efforts where ever needed to compliment/assist groups we are individually affiliated with.  The promise and potential of this is invigorating and inspiring to say the least.  With SOJ, Raxann is passionately trying to create a stable financial platform of support for established and new community building organizations on the island of Jamaica. 

foto from SOJ website

Please visit her website here: Save Our Jamaica

Check and LIKE the SOJ Facebook page.

Please spread the word - and volunteer what you can in this movement, whether it be contact resources, donations - financial or goods, consultation services, field work in workshops, PR, or any other talent or tangible gesture you can offer! 

 

There is great potential here for true collaboration with visual and performing artists, writers, educators, entrepreneurs, tech specialists, etc, and a host of community advocates in all fields to build up a nation of unspeakable talent, potential, and spirit.

---

The next item - just to get this up - is: with the tsunami of protests racing around the globe, it was a matter of time before it hit the US shores.  The Occupy Wall Street protest (sparked originally by Adbusters back in July [great magazine btw!]) is strong, expanding exponentially, and inspiring.  It makes me think of a rant I put up last year (the e-Con Highway) during the midterm elections about the economic disparities in the world, and the vulgar division of wealth and poverty that glows blindingly on a daily basis - and created a good chunk of the messes we're all swimming in now.  Naturally it makes me think of my countries Jamaica, and Sierra Leone - both of which (but SL even more so), are near breathlessly struggling to stay at the surface of this tank, let alone above it!  So I had to share a post from a fellow blogger, which was written specifically from a Jamaican point of view about the London riots.

For further reading about the Occupy Wall Street Protest:
1) The Demand List
2) Growing Support for OWS - Day 19 Support from Unions 10/05/2011

Jamaican Till I Die!: Whites have become Black ...WTF?

foto from Jamaican Till I Die blog

RELATED JOURNEY POST:  The e-Con Highway (Nov 2010)

foto by SeBiArt

 

Torn in the Shadow...

...but still a Rose

   Love reigns in p

                   a

                  r

                   t

                  i

                   c

                  l

                   e

                  s

               of 

                       promises

      Stars sparkling 

                in hearts of 

                     forever-intentions

    Til and then, 

           morning light t

                         e

                          a

                         r

                           s 

                              our focus

                 exposing ground zero

                  just moments 

before hitting 

the

        blind spot

   of

        loss.

And yet...

              We bloom...

---

---

________________________

NOW

The shadow swallows the light 

and eats the shape 

of everything real.

I ride on the mouth of this dream, 

holding fast to the fantasy 

of memory 

and permanence,

While steering every action

towards erasing any evidence of it.

---

---

Find A Quiet Seat...

...and get yourself sorted. 

(Advice to self really, but yeah, to you too my dears.) 

Obama: Já taky jedině Weatherproof Garment & Co.! Hahaha

 

Photo: Weatherproof Garment Co.'s billboard in Times Square. Credit: Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images

from:

White House rains on Weatherproof's Obama billboard [in Times Square] Posted using ShareThis

 Surely by now we've all heard about this right? It's so funny to me to be honest.  But in reading up on it on a couple of news sites, I happened upon a comment made by a reader of the Chicago Tribune that started out well enough, was actually quite funny in illustrating a main point, and then led in directions that were unfortunate by the end.  In drafting a response I was most disturbed though by the fact that I couldn't respond anonymously to this post, which ironically actually shed a whole other spotlight on this reader's concerns I thought.  That, and, I remembered a similar and rather hilarious photo that I took over the summer that serves as a wonderfully comical visual example to compliment a hypothesis of his. 

comment from Chicago Tribune

The current trend in our government is sinking in slowly. Apparently it is not a free country. The Weatherproof company bought the picture of a public figure from the United Press and put it in an advertisement. I don't believe that the president's control over his image, captured at a public event, is protected by copyright law. I could understand a government's complaint if a billboard had a picture of a public figure's young child or if a billboard was put up by Viagra and contained a public figure's image, along with the heading "I'm the president and when the mood strikes me I choose Viagra". We would all agree about taking down the Viagra billboard, because telling the world that our president might be impotent would be a threat to national security. Suddenly, this sort of American advertising and free enterprise is not tolerated by our government. Look at the other areas of free enterprise the government is attempting to control. For instance, look at the current government attempt to take over control of the privately owned health care industry. I thought we elected presidents in the US, not rulers. The next thing you know he'll try to change the term of office to a lifetime term!

skepticalsurfer (01/09/2010, 9:08 AM )

Taken June 2009      Loose translation: POPE "I only drink OISHI"    OBAMA "I also only drink OISHI"

Obama, along with the Pope,  apparently (and certainly unknowingly) endorsing Green Tea in the Czech Republic somewhere on the way to Prague.  But since I took the photo, and I'm not advertising anything - it should be okay to post it here right?  Heehee -  man I've been dying to post this image.  Haha!  


and I said... 

AFP Sunset Jam. Here's what it looked like...

"Be Yourself No Matter What They Say"

Yesterday I went to the Art for Progress event I told you about at the Bandshell in Central Park and it was so much fun.

Yesterday I remembered how to love New York and why.

Yesterday was liberation ~ giving way to a bit of peace today.



Performances by:
DJ's Nickmatic, Gatto, JP Solis, Dennis Sebayan and Sal Leone with a special vocal performance from JC Cassis.

Grafitti artists Royce Bannon and Alberto Hernandez created words live - drawing inspiration from the crowd.

And then, there was the crowd... see if you can guess who my favorite person was. (big smile)

Love and Light for your week my darlings.

'Carpe Diem'...even in the rain...

From Chess in the Rain

The other night I was lucky enough to see what I thought was the best example of "living in the now". I had just finished dance classes and was walking across the Union Square piazza in the pouring rain towards one of the train entrances. After bidding adieu to two friends as they descended into the MTA tunnels, I continued on my wet journey. Very shortly thereafter I stumbled upon two chess players seated on crate boxes barely sheltering themselves and their chess board with one black and one bright yellow umbrella! It was startling and unreal and wonderfully amusing. They were rapt in their game and barely noticed the second and third glances they got from passersby.

As I strolled slowly past them I almost gave myself whiplash unable to resist repeatedly looking back at them and at another passerby in particular who was having the same trouble. Note though that they didn't attract a crowd or even a small gathering as spectacles are apt to do in city squares - I think because it was raining buckets. But the irony is, if it were dry outside they wouldn't have attracted any attention at all!

I have always been nerve-wracked about shooting public scenes - I guess a true photojournalist I am yet to be. :) Anyway, on this singular occasion how could I resist?!?!?! Manifest before me was the odd reality that bore resemblance to a surreal dramatic scene in a Kubric film! In recognition of this I muttered sotto voce to myself "fuck it", pivoted on my heel and approached the men, and asked them if I could take a shot. They didn't look up, but instead nodded "yes" in unfettered compliance.

As I began snapping away, that other similarly seduced passerby had apparently also decided to follow the 'now' example and came over to join me. Together we circled the men, he holding the umbrella steadily in the wind, as I did my best to capture a clear flash-free shot in the pouring rain, at night, with my little old point & shoot camera. I promised my spontaneous companion that I would email copies of this most unforgettable moment to him.

I'm glad to have these pictures (blurry as they may be)** of the 'chess game in the rain', to remind me of an age old philosophy recycled a thousand ways these days because we keep forgetting:

CAPE DIEM!!



**I took advantage of the blur by playing around with saturation and hue levels in photoshop to make certain colors pop out more. I reduced the noise as much as possible in some shots, did some slight sharpening, and added a crosshatch filter (varying strengths and stroke lengths in the images) to create a painterly effect.

Just for reinforcement

SeBiArt Hosts Video Blog on YARDEDGE - 1st Interview - SPUR TREE LOUNGE, NYC

PART I

PART II

1 COMMENT FOR THIS ENTRY

germaican_lady

Laaawwed, mi hungry now!! ...lol... Oh, by the way, what DON'T you do, girl?

Posted by GermaicanLady on Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 21:50
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Late but still affecting...a little thought on Obama's Victory

The night Barack won, my mum called me from Jamaica. Like all around us, and around the world, we wept - and she said to me "You see Berette, do you see what he has done? Look at his supporters: an even mix of every type of person jumping together as one body. That is the world your father and I raised you to see, that is the world we wanted to you to live in." And I cried out, LOUDLY and almost violently because that night, I remembered the girl I was when I moved here and my heart opened for me to begin loving myself again.

Yes, it was truly an amazing time to be alive, to be a part of such joy, such openness, such incredulous euphoric oneness on that night, and I will forever cherish having been alive to witness and experience it. I was jumping till the wee hours in Times Square - too filled and too hungry to be filled more to go home. :) It was also the night I accepted America as my home. 

Song for a Spiritual Supper

On the Subway tonight, on my way home two panhandlers with harmonizing skillZ to rival the Temptations came into my car bopping to some blues and makin beats with their walking sticks.

You see this kinda show everyday and almost everywhere in New York and you tire of it quickly, regardless of the quality of talent, and especially at the end of a long day. Unfortunately such ubiquitous sights desensitize most of us city dwellers, and we find ourselves quick to jack up the volume on the headphones to block out their effort to entertain us for food money. Some of us (and yes I've done it!) will even close our eyes so as not to be shamed by their direct stare when we don't reach into our purses or pockets to donate to the cause. But you know, once in a while, we get dragged out of our self-centered intolerant existence and see the PEOPLE in front of us.

These two men didn't preach or recite the 'obligatory' words of gratitude and blessings for the night for the extra nod of approval, no; they actually sang from their hearts with faces contorted with feeling and stretched wide with jubilance when they hit a sweet note. They swayed and swam INto the melodies and blocked out the riders; and so, in a way, the show was not really for us - they sang for themselves, they sang for a spiritual supper that only they could provide for themselves.

As they made their way onwards, someone pulled out a dollar as if to remind them that they forgot to pass the hat around. So they did. And we gave. And the toothless one said "The ones who judge don't matter, for the ones who matter would not judge." He winked, the other smiled, and then they hummed and bopped outta the car. He's right, and I'm glad I contributed something to their supper, and in that I got mineZ too!


1 COMMENT FOR THIS ENTRY


Catherine

I really enjoyed reading this!

Posted by Catherine on Monday, August 11, 2008 - 22:33
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