Blood Sacrifice: The Exceptionalism Myth They Fight to Uphold

It's not mental illness.
It's not just self hate+fear illness.
It's settler terrorism.
It's jingoism+ xenophobia marinated in racism.
And it's a kind of endemic cultural violence that leads to civil war. 

I've been eying this road America has been on particularly since Sandy Hook. Since 2012, I said to my dear friend Vernice P. Miller, who had been working at the Whitbey School near Sandy Hook, that night, when she came home from her school's lockdown to my apt where she was staying. 

The immediate reaction to that horrific day  was to call it mental illness.
The other immediate public reaction was to call for a ban on guns to curb gun violence.
Followed immediately by the successful pushback from the NRA and Joe Blow public to preserve the right to be armed to kill. As if we were already in pending war or something...where folks where running rampant popping each other off.
At the time the gun count was just under  300million in this country...that we knew of!
And immediately after all of this
...nothing.

Those little white children were worth nothing to the GOP, the NRA, or the racist fuckers who just wanted the right to carry and to kill. 

That was very informative to my brown foreign body.

I knew I was staring down the path of a civil war, and I said it plainly...but such plainneess couldn't find root in the American consciousness or imagination,  because the #MythOfExceptionalism taught us to think "that cant happen here."

Folks...it happened here before!

And what brought the first one about has not yet been resolved, which therefore has yet to effect a true (r)evolution of belief or systemic leadership in this country.

And...this is...just a country.
Like any other.
Determined by a People.

There have been a few upRisings world wide since then, including the recent ones in Sudan, and Puerto Rico, but America for the most part has been asleep.

239 shootings between 2013 after Sandy Hook to the Parkland shooting in 2018.
to
251 mass shootings since the start of 2019.

Looks like we about to blow y'all.

So much pain for these families. So much terror for those of us trying to go about our business in public spaces.
Since I moved to Washington, an open carry state 4 years ago, there have been several local mass shootings...including at high schools where my partners kids attend.

My 17 year old friend said sullenly when I returned last night, "I'm sorry...welcome back to America."

My partner and I were bemused at how little airplay mass shootings get now. Because they are normalized. Normalized!!!
Like ...oh well, there goes another one. Nothing to see here. 

My family and friends abroad reach out in grave concern for how they see America portrayed in international news. I have lived to see media portrayals turn on a country that strove to control such optics in years past. The Third World looks so appealing now when once it was once portrayed as the place so stay clear of.

Travel advisories now issued about #ComingToAmerica by those same countries immigrating peoples left to have a better life here in the United/Divided States.

This shooter may have been a Trrump supporter, but be clear, he was not invented by Trump.
I am tired and terrified to see folks talking like this shit started under Trump.
This shit CREATED Trump! 

He is a dangerous vehicle that they ride, but they would have found another way.

So call me an alarmist.
I don't give a fuck.
I come from an unfortunate legacy of coups and civil wars.
I know what I'm looking at.
Sorry for you if you can see it straight.

Racism is a constructed sickness, and here in Amerikkka it is heavily armed which makes the color of this worldwide issue particularly ominous here.
You tell me what other ingredients are needed.

The DNC better stop with their ego driven infighting and take a note from the GOP playbook: a collective vision is the only way to turn this tide. 

The last 30 years of Republican projects and lobbies, including the Tea Party paving some of this way, have proven as much. Cuz, here we are...and those party leaders who don't even care about their own foot soldier constituents, are fanning laughing gas into these flames.

I still believe these very nationalist/supremist foot soldiers- the ones who will topple this mythological throne of supremacy themselves. But how much damage will happen before they reckon with the fact that their own heroes of death betrayed them? How much damage will they create within that reckoning?

I don't know what we do about this culturally, because this is a socio-cultural issue too.  And for all the hard realism I peddle in, I also still believe Love has to be a part of the answer and the work.  A functional proactive, hard kind of love, which is frankly the only kind that heals.  

But first - get the legislation to regulate guns once and for all!!

Please pardon any typos. Sent from my so-called 'smartphone' 

Ain't I A Woman, Too? - Blindspots, Gender Loopholes, and Institutional Power

One of the most insidious tricks of the patriarchy is the endowment of power bestowed on the highest rings of subordinate powers.  This #metoo/#timesup movement has shaken up a lot in the last year, that needed to be loosened from recesses of our collective minds, but, there is tricky ground left to be dug up. 

The  maddening irony of watching numerous men lose their titles and livelihoods in the months past, in both private and public sectors, without due process of investigation or criminal proceedings - while a known, self-admitted sexual predator stands atop us all with title and job in tact, leaves a terrible, acidic burn in the guts of survivors who STILL remain silent.  I don't argue about whether those men deserved to be stripped of their power after being exposed as abusers, but thinking in the longterm, I could not look away from the inherent blindspots and potential consequences of the methods used. 

The trouble about the fervent rash of calling for the heads this way, is that we set a Salem-witch-hunt precedent of how to handle this matter, that would inevitably create the potential pendulum revenge swing-back that would possibly hurt victims even more in the long run.  And before you come for me, understand I'm taking about employing systems of justice for all, that ensures they keep working for our specific concerns, because that is how, checks, balances, and the law...should work, granted, in an ideal world.  Further, I wondered, in such a climate where we were not leaning on such protocols, who else could take advantage of it, because as much good as this has done for survivors to see power stripped from those men who abused it, it unavoidably would be exploited for other power game purposes too, by both men and women.  It could become a tool used for activities unintended. 

Now some call for and praise relief for that same unused due process to be applied to Kavanaugh, a man whose rulings, if he gets the job (after years of successive promotions in the judicial system) will MAKE laws and role back civil rights rulings we need to remain an evolving democracy, long after sex-predator in chief is gone. We didn't call for such investigations in many instances before, so how do we think this will go over now?!  There is a potential backlash for that inconsistency.  Also, behind, beside, or in font of each of any of these men, is often a woman. There were women who stood by Cosby, one of the few who has actually been investigated, charged, tried, and sentenced because of his accusers stepping forward.  But even if an FBI investigation is granted because of Dr. Ford's brave accounting at the hearings, are we still looking at the full here? Are we able to hold the whole truth?  I don't think so, because we still have many people out there who are not being called out, and who continue to question survivors and choose 'sides' according to political belief and not objective, observable, investigated inconsistencies!  And most importantly missing is the questions, "What if you, what if I, what if we, remain silent because it is another woman whose power would be at risk or negatively unleashed for the telling? What if it is a woman who abused, or allowed, condoned, or repressed the cry of abuse? And are men or boys included in this cry?"

The #metoo movement, for all of the very necessary empowerment it has created for us, worries me deeply and personally in that it is mainly the bellow of taking down men (mostly white men), but is still yet to make space for survivors who stand silent under the boot of a woman. 

TV Interview: Spotlight on Cocooning Catharsis

PBCJamaica "Spotlight" TV Interview Originally aired January 2014
for the solo photo-Based exhibition Cocooning Catharis at HiQo Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
(Dec 19 - Jan 13th, 2014)


This was thankfully a casual but in depth discussion on the inspiration behind the work, and some of the methods used to make the pieces.  It was a great hang with the crew too.

Select works available at HiQo Gallery






Related links and articles:

Smile Jamaica/TVJ Morning Interview

Petchary Blog Review

Arc Magazine Release

The Gleaner

For Trayvon Martin: In. The Hood. We. Will. Witness. Lives and Dreams.

A little over a year ago I collaborated with some friends to create levitating imagery as a first reaction to the news of Trayon Martin's untimely demise. The titles of each triptych portrait were part of a whole sentence: In The Hood We Will Witness Lives and Dreams. 

The idea stemmed also from what I have noticed and experienced in American culture especially - and painfully so - the attachment society has to limited, definitive emblems and symbols of a person, rather than to recognize 'the being', the character, the soul. To state repeatedly that we all have soaring dreams whether we live in 'da hood' or in a homogenized or insulated gated community, whether we wear a suit or a hoodie, is indeed a social conditioning that must be created and pressed consistently and actively into our collective psyche if such dangerous misconceptions are ever to change. We witness not only what unfolds before us, but we create what we witness, by bringing our perceptions to a scene, a conversation, or chance meeting.  If Zimmerman saw a child instead of perceiving a black gangster, Trayvon Martin may possibly have lived, or in fact benefited from his protection rather than to be hunted.

For the triptych works - I asked friends from mixed backgrounds and professions to pose for me in their hoodies for front and back portaits, and in levitating action sequences as a visual attempt to represent the static stereotype whilst actively transcending it.

A short film was also in development to accompany this that I'm hoping to complete by the end of the year.

If only we all remembered simultaneously that it's a simple shift in one's perception that can create huge change...just like the butterfly...

In. The Hood. We. Will. Witness. Lives and Dreams.

Via Flickr:

In. The. Hood. We. Will. Witness. Lives and Dreams., a set on Flickr.

Series Title:

In. The. Hood. We. Will. Witness. Lives and Dreams
A response to Trayvon Martin's misidentification...

Naked in the Shadow

The Shadow came and covered my place, my doorway, my face.  It was like having a solid steel block placed over my heart-space while I lay flat on a cold ground gasping for air.  

That damn persistent Shadow...

I have never stopped myself so consciously from writing before.  I never experienced so physically the effects of such mindful resistance.  I feel it now as I write.  

My whole life I've been told to write, or that I would inevitably be a writer.  I never wanted to accept such prophecy because it meant so many things that I somehow concluded would make my life a misery.  It meant I would be alone.  It meant I would never dance.  It meant I couldn't act. It meant I wasn't pretty enough.  I could never be a popular or fun person who attracted the company of other popular or fun people if I spent my whole day writing about all the crap that ran around in my head.  Funny - as nowadays none of these conditions hold my interest.  Well that's not entirely true.  But the recluse I feared I would be as a writer, is now actually how I choose to exist.  It's how I feel safe.  And now my head is full of thoughts that must come out - UNinterrupted.  Ha!  Isn't that it?  Writing is speaking your mind UNinterrupted?  

Anyway despite my resistance, -a lifetime of active resistance through a number of other activities and professions- I would still write.  Since the age of 6 I started writing...copiously.  And when the rush of thoughts would barrel through me, nothing could stop me from recording it.  Added to mounds of journals, I have so many napkins, internal book sleeves, and scrap papers with sentences, phrases, or whole passages scribbled on them.  I can't count how many draft documents I've typed, never written for public consumption mind you, just for the release I uncontrollably needed. 

In fact the only public consumption of my writing have been assignments in college, a mere handful of published essays and articles, and this blog.  I never tried to take it beyond that you see.  But in each of these instances, I was frightened when my work was well received.  The fright was that I made possible the prophecy of being a 'writer', and thus the Shadow that could rob me of the otherwise active life I thought I wanted.  

But this last month I felt suffocated in a way I never expected or experienced.  I would be sitting on my outside stoop or on the train, or doing some other activity when suddenly a rush of thoughts and words would come over me and through me.  I know this feeling so well and precisely how I've always reacted to it. But this time I would literally, consciously decide to let it slip away.  I would plant myself, sit it out,  STOP myself from grabbing a pen or running to the computer to write.  And that freaked me out.  It is freaking me out.  It's freaking my friends out too.  So much so that as I verbally explained this to one of them, my dear Vernice made me sit down immediately to write this in her presence to release myself...

So here I am, ...naked.

And here I will stay...embracing this prophecy.  Many thoughts have bubbled in this winter of introspection.  I was so still that if I wrote anything, it would be the only action and so...resistance. 
It seems awfully obvious now, and reveals me as a bit mad and slow on the uptake...but, of course I can do everything I've done before, just now it's time to openly embrace 'writing' as one of...  But on the way here, maybe it's okay, as Saul Williams said: "to throw away the pad and pen, and simply be the poem." Perhaps all this exploration has been to gather tales and living poetry to share; dispatches from a mad lab of endless searching for wholeness. 

Indeed.  And this search shall take me home, the reports of which will be shared through my lens and my pen.

Sierra Leone.  

It is time.

Crumbling Culture of the Catholic Church

As a recovering Catholic there are many criticisms that I have of this institution and so serve as reasons why I refer to myself this way.   I actively disengaged myself as a practitioner of this faith around the age of 12 before the completion of my Confirmation  because I couldn't reconcile pressing questions I had about what I saw as dangerous contradictions within the culture of this church.


-I am suspicious of a Church (founded on the principles of Christ) that has a secular and political structure whose function of power is wholly undemocratic, where fundamental decisions of leadership are decided by a College of Cardinals - an elite group free of any pressure of public debate or consequential indictments by the main populace of its congregation.  

-I don't support any entity that bars the ascent of women in leadership roles - undemocratic or not. How can the archaic rigidity of a patriarchal heirarchy have real progressive significance in today's world?

-I'm not inspired by rituals or faithful commitments to a life of fear, sorrow, and apology.  I want to joyfully recognize the gift of life, not feel impelled to constantly apologize for the receipt of it.  Is there not for gratitude in seeing our birth as one of a blessing, rather than in original sin for which we must beg for salvation through presumably therefore no fault of our own?  I don't get that.  It makes our God, or any Universal and unifying law seem meglomaniacal. 

-It just irks me that an entity whose expressed purpose is to lead in faith and serve the poor and thus calls itself a 'church', is actually a sovereign state diplomatically known as the Holy See (which represents Vatican City). Though one of the mere 3 non-member states in the world of nations, the Holy See is an 'Observer' of the United Nations and the European Union, and its jurisdiction is recognized by "other subjects of international law" - with its own police, and military protection - the Pontifical Swiss Guard. 

I find it difficult to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the preachings of an organization that maintains a complex global administrative heirarchal ministry of clergy through whom followers must seek counsel with them as intermediaries for indulgencies, forgiveness, etc with or from the true CEOs of this corporation - The Trinity.  It's inconsistent for me - as all three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are considered (even after Christendom, and according to hypostasis) mysteriously Omnipresent and thus instantly accessible to all...yes? So why the bureaucratic gates of exclusion?

-I do not like that, unlike most other international institutions with such powerful mass leadership, this Church can harbour alleged criminals of sexual violence and often avoid appropriate modes or warrants for investigations or questioning by authorities, as would be the consequences of any other organization beseiged by undenied charges of child abuse.  That they still have the power to handle legal (civil and criminal) matters internally beyond just elections of their clergy and upkeep of their laws, speaks actually to their immense power. No other independent state in the international body is allowed such control. The few that function this way are referred to as fascist states barred from the international community.  But then - they serve other important pycho-social purposes for keeping us in check, don't they? (See the Investiture Controversy, Simony, the Gregorian Reforms, and Fundamental Law of Vatican City State )

-It's also highly disturbing to me that while being aware of the behavioural dangers of unprotected sex and lack of birth control planning, that this institution still endorses them.  The condemnation of any resistance of such rules as great sins is  dangerously irresponsible in its effect on the poor, and gives the appearance to me, of a power-dependency by the church on the very populations they are credited to aid. It gives the impression that this holy organization thrives only on uncontrolled growth of a psychologically stressed and dependent population so as to remain  purposeful and relevant. 

I know these are harsh charges but they are not at all new or unusual; the merits of these are in the challenges this institution has suffered for centuries, and quite widely in the last decade.  The Church has been emptying out with severe reductions in mass attendance, closures of schools and missionaries; its followers -rather than practicing obediently- have been turning their backs on out-dated and dangerous doctrines; and the conversion rates to the faith have steadily been dropping with most of their 1.2 billion followers being made up of members born into the faith as opposed to choosing it...unlike Islam for instance.  And this doesn't even touch the dirtiest charges of them all...  I mean really, when was the last time you ever heard of an adult searching for spiritual practice saying they're thinking of becoming Catholic...?  People searching for mystical or spiritual meaning and ritual in their lives seem to turn to eastern philosophies and practices these days...

College of Cardinals | Source: Papal Conclave 2013

But - the recent election by the College of Cardinals of Jorge Mario Begoglio of Argentina, now Pope Francis, was a sign from the Cardinal Conclave as being at least politically

thoughtful in how to rescue their influence.  They have made history choosing a new Pope of non-European descent for the first time in Vatican history.  There were many hopes (and bets) that American Cardinal Dolan, African Cardinal Turkson, and a couple other headliners would be chosen.  As a West African, needless to say I would have been quite okay with Turkson being named. And actually - he would not have been the first black Pope - just the newest. The last African to lead the Catholic Church was Pope Gelasius I - 1500 years ago.   Anyway - point being Bergoglio wasn't even on the popular radar as these men were,  which was quite the shock.  But funny that while chatting about this on twitter just moments after the #whitesmoke announcement - there was immediate follow up of excitement over this man and the costume changes!  Older and not so robust eh. He's 76 with only one lung in his chest!  So much for putting a young and healthy guy in there.  Yet he was readily embraced and continues to win the world over with an informal swagger if you will.  

Francis of Assisi | Source: Wikipedia

I remain shocked that given my cyncial feelings toward my childhood faith - I am pleased and hopeful for all ye faithfuls.  He has a history of being a devoted, pious, present, and humble guy who actually lived this way and aptly chose the name Francis after his election in honor of Francis of Assisi (patron saint for the poor and protector of animals - who after living a loud and priviledged life, was inspired by a vision to devote his time to service whilst living in poverty). What does this all mean?  Could it be emotional manipulation.  Could it be a geniunely humble association too though. Honestly I have no idea - but it gave me a nostalgic buzz because St. Francis was my favourite saint as a child. Never mind that my terrible Catholic school days were punctuated by the uber strict guidance of Franciscan nuns - which always somehow felt like a disconnect.  Anyway I just hope this guy makes some decisions that move the Church forward. Can't say I'm surprised that already there has been a little 'dirt' on Pope Francis. But that said,  so far he appears to be giving the Vatican pompous culture a bit of a shake down which is cool to see.  

Pope Francis | Source: AP (via Yahoo)

The world population of those struggling through hardship and in need of faith is larger than it ever has been, and the church needs charisma and new ideas...and perhaps a resurgence of their oldest ideas...you know, the teachings of Christ prior to Christendom.  Will that bring hoards of recovering Catholics back to regular mass?  Not sure about all that - at least for me anyway.  I like to mix my faith and spirituality a bit too much - but I would like to stop calling myself a recovering Catholic.  Nothing can be done about the wretched historical record of this very organised religion, but much can be done to open and illuminate the culture of it's worldwide influence. We'll see.

Appeals for the Life of a Friend

Dear friends and family,

This is a very sober and unfortunate reason for an appeal for help.  But hope is strong.

An old friend of mine Neesha Cameron (from my Sandals days in Jamaica) was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last fall.  Unfortunately she has taken a turn for the worst in the last days and her family, friends, acquaintances and
beyond are pulling together resources in every way possible to raise funds for her treatment. 

I know a lot of emails like this float around - often about people we don't know
but I am personally asking you to assist any way you can for someone I do know. 

She is a warm and beautiful person with a young daughter who needs her to beat this thing.
And seriously - no amount is too small and you can donate anonymously.  Anything you can give will help - it adds up!

She has been flown Mexico to receive specialized treatment from a highly reputed

practitioner of holistic care for cancer treatment, Dr. Castillo at his clinic in Tijuana*

Contact Info for more info on how to help:

The Cameron family - and primarily Neesha's sisters Orianna and Nekoda can be reached at the
email addresses below:
 
Oriana Cameron:
orianajam@yahoo.com

Nekoda Cameron:
empressnekoda@yahoo.com

Friends are also working on fundraising events in Jamaica and New York for Neesha.

For fundraiser details
• to get involved • offer sponsorship • goods for auction • direct donations • etc  :)

Raxanne Chin

(who is physically with Neesha in Jamaica now assisting in her care)
[of Femheka Design/SaveOurJamaicaFoundation]:
raxannchin@gmail.com

Linda Virtue  

[from KayUnger]: 
Ljasvirtue@gmail.com

We are also brainstorming a fundraising fashion event to raise funds for 2nd and 3rd treatment sessions for Neesha
later in the summer.  

News to follow...

--- 

I have also attached a PDF doc with more extensive information about the clinic in 

Mexico, the costs of treatment and accommodation with applicable links to treatment info, testimonials from past patients, and also more contact info for the Cameron Family.**  

---

 
There are a few ways online to donate:

1)
You can directly donate (and anonymously if preferred) via
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/eKA86?psid=7742d7d00058434193a71ffa2eda8b7c

2)
You can send a donation via Paypal to her sisters using this merchant account email address: empressnekoda@yahoo.com

3)
Ladies you can purchase mascara from the MaryKay Foundation where 50% of proceeds
will go to the Neesha Cameron Fund (see/click flyer attached)

flyer design by kgn6/danae grandison

---

Remember any amount will help.

If you cannot donate at this time, you can emit positive wishes for this goal to be met by sharing this with others.


PLEASE  send this out to anyone you know who can assist in any way.
Blog it, Facebook it, Tweet it, Digg it - however you share information widely. 

We can't take for granted that no one will respond.  If everyone gets one person to donate - that's HUGE.

She is in severe pain. 
This is URGENT. 
It can't be said any other way...

Deep thanks to you and endless gratitude for however you can help.

Love • Light • Gratitude • Life
Berette


*About Dr. Castillo - He was awarded the 2006 GOEH ( Global Organization for Excellence in Health). Dr Castillo combines the best of both worlds. He provides the patient with the benefits attained form both areas of western medicine and holistic treatment. The objective of the therapies that Dr. Castillo administers is to prolong and improve quality of life as much as possible by putting into remission, or stabilizing the patient's condition.I.M.A.Q.

**PDF Info Download with more info

Face Lift Off: Leaving My Facebook Mask(erade) Behind

Well oops - the researcher became the subject as it were! 

I woke up one day and realized that I start and end my days with Facebook.  That I carried it with me in my handbag (ie. my phone).  That I was never really OFF the damn thing!  

Well - actually a few things shook me awake - like some very real world experiences that proved my early observations that folks take Facebook WAY too seriously - assuming all representations of their lives there equate reality; that validity is gained there first.  Concurrent with this were a couple of rude awakenings of very aggressive behaviours and presumptuous expectations from  virtual strangers - 'virtual' being the operative word here. 

Facebook and the like (no pun) have never been more for me than sites to promote  professional efforts, to communicate with  supporters in a personable way, to have fun exchanging written banter on shared interests with friends and acquaintances, and to exchange links + fotos with my peeps/REAL members of my physical life.  (Ironically less exchanges actually happen with my physical-world friends on these platforms - perhaps because we have 'reality' - lol).  I guess in short, FB is like an interactive address book, bookmark keeper, and calendar that makes us all appear to have great memories when it comes to birthdays (come on - birthdays on Facebook rock! lol), or far more active lives by virtue of the 'LiKes' and links we share! 

But somewhere in between my sociological/artistic observation and research of this for my project BRANDED... and me being a participant, I engaged in some of the very same behaviours I was analyzing in others.  I remained fiercely private about matters that don't belong there, and never attacked anyone, but around mid Summer of last year I started spending an inordinate number of hours on that thing! I started needing that interaction for ego strokes, a good laugh at stupid jokes (fun times! sigh...), stimulating conversations/debates at a 'safe' distance, blah blah blah.  I also justified this in the name of promotional necessity for my work.   

The first important statistical fact that bubbled to the surface and smacked my face in was the fact that I wasn't really promoting that much - save for a show post here and there, or appeal to 'LiKe' my page...(eye roll).  Further, I felt I was running out of things to promote.  I spent hours here, thus reducing the amount of free time I had for the life I was investing in before, like writing on this blog for instance; creating more photograpahic or collaborative projects; teaching art with orgs I support; writing proposal submissions for my work; soliciting paying jobs...etc.  Though I have met or reunited with a number of great souls and characters there, the bottom line is that much time spent on FB has not resulted in any appreciable improvement to my physical work process as an artist, nor has it resulted in increased commissions and sales for my work.  Not the way all real life and blogger interractions do.  It's like high school where one will forego doing homework so you can play in the right circles for popularity points.  Who wants to miss the next viral post that proves you being current?!  The number one procrastination tool confessed to by millions is Facebook! Wow.  All I'm saying is like all things, there needs to be

...b a l a n c e.  Of course this is obvious  - as I've continually examined here on this journey blog.  But to wake up inside this particular belly as it were has been a bit stinky and I wear this stink with a bit of embarrassment too, hence my need write it all out here. I believe if we cover up, hide, or 'front' - the beast wins.  So...

...the most liberating thing was to decide to take a break from that amoebic blue world beast - at least for a little while - lol.

A friend of mine, Jimmy, who does this often always referred to Facebook as a country - "sometimes I fly in, visit loved ones - hang out in new spots, meet a couple folks, and then I return home".  

And so I've posted this on Facebook and flown home. I've set up my bathroom darkroom and spent hours doing pinhole photography. Sweet liberation to be shared in subsequent posts.

APRIL 27, 2012:

Not that this is MaJoR news yeah,  but I've been told that without prior warning of FB sabbaticals some folks might create the wrong ideas when they suddenly see a 'friend' disappear. 

So...I'm checking out temporarily from MAY 1st to JULY. 

I confess that I have fallen into the FB addiction trap - woke up one day a realized this place is getting more of my time than my actual work is.  I know - such an unusual observation right?!!!   Well I like being on top of  my creative work and blogging about that, and other such pass-times as old-fashioned emails, phone calls, yoga, chocolate, cheese shopping, etc.  I need to plug out of this and plug deep into feeding my soul. :)

I expect I'll see many of you in REAL life, and on other spots like ...twitter  (so far that'll stay up tho I still have NO idea how that thing really works...).  But yah - May 1st (that's Tuesday) FB gets the boot for bit... will play til then. :)

One Love Munchkins and Happy Weekend!

B

A fellow Facebooker who thought it a good idea to do the same - photographer Jim Northorp:
  Cyber-Celibacy Facebook No Mo?

RELATED POSTS:
-Some talk about a new project...'BRANDED' (Oct 2010)
-Awakening in the Illusion (Sept 2010)
-Apathy as Peace of Mind? (April 2010)

Why "i•ma•gine | e•volve"

Art does for society what sports, physical feats, and various acts of heroism do for us - offering hope, catharsis, and dreams, in showing the spectator the full potential of the human when fear is overcome and the bankrupt notion of limitations is surpassed.

How then could this world ever do without art - when it evidently must be credited as the perpetual newborn release of imagination (womb of creation nurtured by hi[story], feeling, experience, and curiosity) which propels mutation, adaptation, innovation, expression from our hungry hearts, and thus the evolution of our species?

(this is an inspired general response to the constant funding cuts and downsizing of art initiatives worldwide as if deemed unimportant, and a further offer of what my logo tag is about...)

last page from my photo student project book- MMC 2001

SeBiArt at Bookophilia

Hey guys - super quick post to let you know I have work up at this cool bookstore in Kingston, Bookophilia from now through June.

You know I'm into community/art/edu programs and so I've committed proceeds of all sales to go to two organisations I support in Jamaica.  

One you've heard about here before, Studio 174 is run by Rozi Chung (hey that rhymed!! haha).  It's located on Water Street, downtown Kingston, and the art and educational programs there are provided for free to inner city children in need.  Many of the art workshops are focused on community beautification mural projects that also serve to improve the face of downtown Kingston.  S174 is in partnership with INSCAPE Foundation - an organization providing free clinical psych and art therapies to inner city citizens in stress.  

Rozi Chung(left) with S174 students, and Dr. Tammy Haynes of INSCAPE (far right blue shirt)

S174 studio workshops and exhibition space

I was recently introduced to yet another really great organization on my recent trip to Jamaica.  Run by Roslyn Ellison, Trenchtown Reading Center is now nearly 20 years old.  It's located in the heart of Bob Marley's old home town and has on offer free classes, reading and music sessions, and the most AMAZING library for the children of Trenchtown to enjoy.  

 

TTRC kids

Roslyn Ellison with TTRC kids

Proceeds from sales of my pieces at Bookophilia will go to both Studio 174 and Trenchtown Reading Center.  Please drop by if you are on the island, or pass the word around.  Thanks so much.

RELATED JOURNEY POSTS:

Jamrock Talk, Jamrock Walk (Oct 2011)

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