Let Go: While Haiti Cries, We Must Try (UPDATES - Jan 20th)

+This Post will be periodically UPDATED
with new info marked in green 


Not sure what to write. Seems everyone is scrambling in the mad dash to help - and thank goodness.  There's been so much devisive shit on the news the past year spurring on the negative aspects of humanity  - and here's one really awful event that is uniting the international community to help the vulnerable.   And the death toll and displacement numbers in Haiti are so staggering at this point (now reaching 140,000 dead according to the Guardian) that there could be no other response than this incredible worldwide community effort. Lets just hope in the next 48 hours rescue efforts will result in more successes. 

I first wanted to share photos from a talented and versatile photographer and purist in the craft, Christopher L. Mitchell (aka NEOERO) living in Haiti (thank God he's fine).  He's been traveling between there and New York city for years, and his love of Haiti caused him to move to Jacmel I think almost  2 years ago. 
Instead of pulling from the major news sites - I'd rather show these images from someone I'm somewhat acquainted with, admire, and support.  He's been posting his images on Facebook and I'd like to share some with you here:

All Fotos © Christopher L. Mitchell

Secondly, I like sharing lists, and below I've compiled a short one mainly for the collection of non-perishable goods (clothes, shoes, sanitary napkins, diapers, canned food, dry food goods, candles, batteries, flashlights, blankets/towels, bandages/gauze - you get the idea), as there are more than enough fund raising options out there.  Whatever you have, you have more than they do. Let go of the extras and find the relief orgs in your community to send stuff.  It's not just for this weekend - Haitians will need help for a REALLY long time. So if not the pockets, dig your closets. I'm doing a lot of packing too.

LISTS For Donations & Drop-Offs

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... 

Blue Moon Desire # 7

 foto taken in Jamaica

Everyone seems to be on about the moon these days, so I figured I'd roll with the tide and share my favourite moon pic of 2009.

Especially too as I was just told that us December babies got a blue moon (two full moons) for the month. No wonder it was such a lucky month!

Took this one in London one night in the summer. Tried to lasso the thing in one shot, fired the shutter several times for the 7 linked shots here...called it Lassoed in Seven Stages.  

Why 7?  It's my lucky number.  Well, no it's not - at least I've never been able to prove it's lucky, but I have a thing for it though. Wouldn't it have been so neat if I posted this on the 7th too?!  

New Year resolution to consider: work on being on neater.

 “All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion and desire.” Aristotle

Lucky Happy Endings...and Incongruent Beginnings - 09' to 2010

The last few days of this year have been filled with 'near misses', lucky breaks, and naturally occuring beautiful contradictions. 


I will be posting a recap of Two Thousand MINE later. For now however, sharing the last couple weeks is an appropriate footnote to a year filled with both planned and unexpected, thrilling adventures that have left me gasping at the wonder of life...

Near-miss or (un)Lucky break?

About that accident you heard about...


I've spent the past decade almost exclusively flying home to Jamaica on AA.  Just this once, I decided to try something new. In so doing, I got snowed in and delayed by four days.  I didn't broadcast these facts, so when the accident happened - there were lots of calls about my whereabouts.  

Well - I had a safe arrival luckily enough. About that arrival though...

It is customery for passengers to applaud successful landings on the island of Jamaica, so naturally we did so when Jetblue accurately estimated the length of the runway and brought us in smoothly.  

But this time, as we taxied down the tarmac past the American Airlines fuselage, the applause was particularly emphatic - followed by airline personnel singing an old Jamaican folk song over the PA system "this is the land of my birth (repeat), this is Jamaica, my Jamaica, the land of my birth".  All 200+ passengers chimed in; cabin-wide choral joy I tell you! Absolute hilarity I found.  

Jetblue could not have paid for better marketing if they'd offered their entire capital worth for it. 

NOTE - as I understand it, surviving passengers (luckily all passengers in this case) are to receive up to $30,000 in compensation. DAMMIT!

(PHOTO from AP. I couldn't be bothered to take a photo myself...tsk)

 

Beautiful Contradictions

Moonlit Days to Watching the Moonrise:

 

 

 

Message I got...

Don't wait to shine, don't wait to RIZE.

Just get UP and take your place HIGH.

New definition of Hot Tops:

 Jumbo mushrooms bloom out of nowhere on the front lawn, just shy of the shade they could have had under a small palm tree. Rather than withering in the direct blast of the Jamaican sun, they grew and grew and grew...

 

 

 

 

Message we should get...

Conditions won't always be perfect.

So wherever you are, dig in, root yourself,

and grow - no matter how hot it gets.  And more often than you realise, help does arrive...

Love, Light, Gratitude, and Wicked Hot Vibrations for the New Year

B

Birthday Gallery Soiree ThanXX

Rich are we to be loved.  Damn X-cessive and Xtravagant to be loved by many. You all made me into a Double X Diva. 

Thanks for swimming thru the puddles to come celebrate with me, and um, sorry about the lack of photo editing - had to get 'em up fast. Hope you enjoy them as I did. 

Photos by: Marlis Momber, John Mazlish, and moi.

Works exhibited by Avery Daily, Yxia Olivares, and moi!  :)

Odic Birthday Message from a dear friend

God looked down admiringly, exclaimed "Nothing could be fine-ah!"
"Than the sassy smart and sweet lil babe I just forced out that vagina!"
She knew not then her destiny nor recalled the moment prior
When God had asked her to descend to stir up quite a fire
"Blaze not with rage but warmth and light for this is what is needed"
"It will take some time to figure out, to get the garden weeded"
So, each year, when the day arrives that marks your popping out
Know you are light and not mistakes, and know this with no doubt


by Mark Pergola
 
Thank you Marky-boo!  I love you SO MUCH!

Better to travel alone than with a bad companion...

(Title taken from old African Proverb)

...lest you be slowed down with extra weight that drains.

Is that reasonable though?  After all, you never know what you'll come across while on the JOURNEY.

More often than not, the road is filled with places, things, and folks who fill your horizons ANEW.  The adventure IS the companion - and she's never boring and always ENLIGHTENING...well, only perhaps if your feet are ready, your ears are clean, and the eyes of YOUR HEART are open. 

Some Blues

Lifted across waves

  Lingual dances stain what could

                                          and never be.

by Steve Wilson

(thanks chuchiwuchi!) 

FINALLY!!! SeBiArt shows in Europa! :)

Not surprisingly I am posting this a bit late in the day, but I'm nonetheless excited to share that my work will be a part of a group show in Nürnberg, Germany.  It's the annual Wintersalon at Nord Galerie Haus, which is opening this Sunday - Nov 22nd and will be up for a month!  The pieces are 4 selections by curator Margit Mohr from my CrowDeD series. Yahooooooo!  Now all I need is a surprise plane ticket so I can actually attend the opening...

See Galerie Haus e.V for more info.

(http://www.galeriehaus-nuernberg-nord.de/)

 

Support Post: Epic Theater Ensemble Just Won BIG TIME!

I'm so proud to show support for a deserving group. My acting teacher from college, Godfrey Simmons Jr, serves as one of the artistic producers at Epic Theater Ensemble here in New York, and one of their after school theater programs "Shakespeare Remix" has just received a most prestigious reward:

WE HAVE WON

...the 2009 COMING UP TALLER AWARD presented by the PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE on the

ARTS and the HUMANITIES for our SHAKESPEARE REMIX program. This prestigious award 

recognizes and supports outstanding after-school arts and humanities programs for 

children, especially those with great potential, but limited outlets for creative 

expression.

Here is a breakdown on what they are about, with board director and kick ass actor David Strathairn:

Check out their website for more info plus showtimes for Shakespeare Remix and other projects: Epic Theater Ensemble 

(www.epictheatrectr.org)

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.

"Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level."

Some people can't imagine being loved
So they don't want love
and refuse it when gently offered to them

What do we do with people like this? Grant their wish to be left alone by turning our backs, ignoring them, maybe even treating them with a little of the same miserable cruelty that they offer in abundance? Understandable if you say 'yes' here.

But I say no actually. And to be clear, it is not because of God or some other mystical reason; and certainly not in following some societal rule of deportment; far simpler.

It is perhaps unbelievable, and certainly naive, and always a bit painful, but I simply never feel better brandishing the same bitterness and hostility shown by others. It makes me feel worse. I prefer to keep giving love...if even at a distance.

It's easier to look at such misery for what it is: fearful loneliness and an incapability to ask for a way out of that darkness. I just can't be so merciless to turn my back on such vulnerability when I can see right through it - even if I'm looking through a wall of fire.

"Abatement in the hostility of one's enemies must never be thought to signify they have been won over. It only means that one has ceased to constitute a threat."

That said - I do find bitter humor thoroughly enjoyable:

"Health consists of having the same diseases as one's neighbors."

Foto ©SeBiArt
"Living en famille provides the strongest motives for rudeness combined with the maximum opportunity for displaying it."

"There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse. "

All quotes by ~Quinten Crisp~ Click for more Crisp-isms.