Frank Rich’s article in NY Mag doesn’t quite push all the buttons on its central thesis – Willard’s Mormonism and lack of discourse about his religion – but that’s okay because the election cycle will.

And not just stolen from a light pole or clipped from a bike rack, but someone actually broke into my property, clipping my yard’s gate lock with bolt cutters (ON VIDEO, coming soon!), probably proceeded to poke around my house’s perimeter, and eventually clipped my bike’s lock and rode off into the sunset.

Incident occurred at approximately 3:30pm on Wednesday January 25 in Long Island City, Queens. The very guilty suspect can be seen walking up the street (my landlord has video cameras on the street and on our property, which is set about 45′ back from the street) with a bag of tools, obviously, and the whole thing takes about 5 minutes for his in and out theft. Bikes get stolen, I know that, but it’s pretty shocking that whoever this was was ballsy enough to bolt-cut the lock on the street, in broad daylight. And oh yeah I was home at the time! Anyhow it’s an iconic looking bike: 2010 Bianchi San Jose, shiny red; neon green handlebars and neon orange pedals; if you see it LOCK IT and email me [nick@geekathon.net] or call my hotline [419-NOR-MALS that's 419-667-6257] with its location!!

during the set of Slavic Soul Party in the Grand Ballroom, this solo dancer was clearly enjoying himself – among a crowd of fellow happy dancers!

HINT: “Jackson” by Slavic Soul Party!

And so the headlines read again and again in this week’s Nonsense NYC list – so many good choices for one evening, from Cheryl to Occupy to the Pratt Steam Whistles, and then, recovery, while the boroughs clearly take a break from partying, as indicated by the disparity of events for Mon/Tues/Wed. Also, Nonsense are currently asking for donations – give a buck, if you can.

See you in 2012!

This trailer is deservedly getting a lot more views in recent days – in case you don’t know the tale of Pulgasari it’s not only a mythical creature but was also a film produced – yes, what I’m about to say is true – by the now-deceased North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. A few years prior to the kidnapping of that film’s director, Jong-il penciled the treatise On the Art of Cinema [link] (fantastic cover by the way, pictured above) which led to the formation of the North Korean film industry aka Jongilwood (just made that up obviously). It’s a terrible movie but if you’re a fan of the monster genre, it’s sort of quintessential:

PS – the post title is not only a reference to Team America: World Police but because I’d love to see a puppet re-make of this film in their parody-style – yessir!

the original video is here

PS – I made this.

I AIN’T GOING NOWHERE BABY!!

Where Normal meets Man meets Moustache meets Hair meets Normal meets Moustache – WHATEVER!!

En route back home from work, did a bike tour of areas nearby. Some new condos going up, some economies of scale, a new way to park your truck, and the light yesterday was incredible – clear blue with a slight pink or yellow tint coming from the horizon, cold in the shade but intensely warm in the sun.

I also encountered this gem of a hoarding – I’m still perplexed about the whole thing, the pigs, the flying pigs, the lone tree, the underwater-ness of the blue. But it’s an amazing use of the paneled plywood, and I’d love to see more hoardings – if they have to be there – take this approach:

Because it’s Halloween season. And because it’s one of the best costumes (and films) of all time. And because it’s playing tomorrow (Friday) night at the Museum of the Moving Image (in Astoria, Queens). That’s a Japanese poster of the Alien’s perceived anatomy, and the reality of the costume as inhabited by Bolaji Badejo, a 7’2″ Nigerian design student “discovered” in a SoHo pub – who supposedly committed suicide several years after the movie’s release (can only imagine why), and whose name has largely disappeared into obscurity.

Bolaji with HR Giger:

Bolaji taking a break between shoots:

In the video above note the plains-clothed officer arresting the Chase customer (scan to 1:30). Note the square tag on the back of his hoodie.

It was a busy day for this officer. No doubt he is reveling in the overtime pay. He was later spotted emerging from a squad car on 9th Ave and 36 Street, along with the guy in the suit (also glimpsed in the video). They proceeded to head towards the Times Square rally, with the same hooded officer carrying an ‘International League of Peoples Struggle’ picket sign (that’s really poorly made by the way). It begs the question was he there for observation, or instigation?

I’m certain that additional photos culled from the Times Square rally will show this officer in higher detail, without his badge visible.

Someone should tell them to not be so obvious too – shaking hands with every officer you see along the way to the protest isn’t something a typical ‘commie bastard’ (ILPS) would do.

“[My exhibit] looks like most of the other production vehicles back here, buuuuuuut… come this way.”

BRILLIANT! Way to go Mark!

And oh yeah, if you’re not already on the level, Maker Faire has its own YouTube channel with lots of behind-the-scenes type shots, conversations with Makers, and those projects that you saw but didn’t get the opportunity to learn more about. Check it out!

Brilliant project by André Smits, a painter and traveling photo-logger who is taking portraits of artists from around the world, in their studios, and only from behind!

My photo is part of set [95] The World_0022 – and literally thousands more photos can be found at his full archive here.

See! You can totally spot me in the crowd!

Thanks to Max Cohn for this absolutely stunning time lapse video showing some setup and crowd-lapse shots during World Maker Faire. A must-watch-in-HD, with beautiful tunes by Collin Cunningham. Great stuff, good to see someone else taking the reins on a project like this! While it’s nice to spot myself in the vid, I think my favorite segment is outdoors, at the thoroughfare across from Gerard’s Paella, where all the cars and carts and Dogzilla and other projects cross the picture plane – it shows just how nuts and full of activity the setup and preparation for World Maker Faire is (in a good GREAT way!).

The adventures of YOUR 3d printed likeness can also be had with the aide of a MakerBot Industries Thing-O-Matic. The resolution on these printouts is so good, at any scale. And they just demonstrated a two-color printer at the recent World Maker Faire in NYC. Just imagine what is possible with this newfangled art form, for example:

Normal in the pop-up office:

Normal cherry bowl:

Normal hoodie:

Normal bottlecaps:

Normal comfy pillow:

Normal on the dash:

And lastly, Pastafarian Normal:

press:

Motherboard.tv | Animated GIFs of the Coolest 3D Printers at the World Maker Faire (scroll down)

TOR | Conductive Paint, Makerbots, Knitwear & More: EtsyBrook Goes To Maker Faire NYC

mother nature network | Go ahead, Maker Faire my day

PC World | UAVs, Modding, and a New Chumby at Maker Faire NY 2011

blogs:

Dave Durant’s blog

Bath-On-Hudson (Rensselaer, NY) (roadtrip!)

flickr:

2011 Arduino WMF OSHW set on Flickr

Well, we did it! Once again we changed the world for the better. Here are some of my choice photos, followed by some important articles and coverage, and then finally some videos. Will keep updating but enjoy this selection for now:

Definitely one of my favorite moments walking around outside was turning around and being visually stunned by the Rocket Park rockets, 1960s era rocket sculpture, and Tim Laursen’s MIDI controlled robot drummers in the foreground, with people interacting with his drumbots via a drum machine. Intense!

Wonderful projection arts and chiptune sounds by Datalore

This one made even me scratch my head! Homebrew biodiesel!

Greggy and his homemade cakes were a big success!

It was great seeing kids interact with exhibits, even if only momentarily. One of the few days of the year where they can be completely free.

Bamboo Bicycles brought their mobile bike truck workshop

Wonderfall spelled things using illuminescent liquid

Little Yellow Drumbot, would take input audio from surrounding environment and turn that into a drum beat!

Huffington Post | What Barack Obama Could Learn From Maker Faire

Scientific American | A Robot in Every Home? We’re getting close.

BBC News | Tech heads display DIY projects at New York Maker Faire

Scientific America | Making, Education, and Innovation: Inspiring Makers in Underrepresented Communities

ABC News | New York Maker Faire Showcases a New Generation of Innovators (video below)

spectrum ieee | The Coolest Things at World Maker Faire 2011

Engadget | Arduino brings the (new) goods to Maker Faire New York, welcomes ARM into the fold

photosets:
World Maker Faire 2011 set on my Flickr
some great photos by ka1kjz on Flickr
the NYSCI’s Maker Faire set on Flickr

MakerBot “brought the awesome”, and documented it in this episode of MakerBot TV:

ABC News, great interview with Mitch Altman which opens with Rude Mechanical Orchestra and features a nice segment with Joe Hudy and other Makers in my area:

BIG UPS to Tim Laursen who personally helped me make World Maker Faire a success:

plenty more videos on Maker Faire’s YouTube Channel

Another one of those World Maker Faire head-scratchers. Also involves a kitten (I’m seeing a recurring theme I never noticed before!).

…

(just one of over 450+ maker projects you’ll find at World Maker Faire 2011!)

(photo by Lunar Camel Co)

The Last Nights of Constance Hockaday’s Boggsville Boatel and Boat-In Theater,

September 8-10

The New York Times gave it rave reviews, as did NPR and every other magazine and TV channel in America. (Photos) The Boatel has been SOLD OUT all summer long, but we’re auctioning off rooms here for ONE LAST WEEKEND! (All proceeds go to the Swimming Cities India raft project…we leave Sept 20!)

The Boggsville Boatel is a floating hotel and theater fashioned out of abandoned and re-claimed boats, all of which sleep 2-5 people. Six of the vessels are leisure fishing crafts from the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, ranging from 28 to 40 feet long. Another is a 70’s drifter houseboat remodeled into a rustic penthouse. Rooms include dinner and access to our GOING AWAY PARTY Sept 10 right next door at Marina 59, from 8pm-late. Kick it on your poop deck four blocks from the beach with cold beer, all of your friends and swim trunks—plus Cocktail Cruises in Jamaica Bay, Jerk Burgers & Pineapple Hot Dogs by Carnival Queen Lamar Iposa and Sea Shanty Karaoke.

And yes you’ll see a sunrise like that; and yes you’re only 4 blocks from the beach/ocean; and yes there is a bar; and yes there are film screenings; and yes you can swim there.

There are some faraway places in New York City that many people just don’t know about, where Life is happening day in and day out. Manhattanites thankfully don’t go there with their “make me a fucking sandwich” demands. Brooklyners won’t go there because it’s Queens. And everybody else simply can’t be bothered, or they’ve found their comfort zones even in places like Coney Island (you know what to expect there). I’m talking about the Far Rockaways. A clash and collision of beach culture, low-income housing, middle and HIGH-income housing in areas, non-existent social infrastructure, and marina/boat life – you can see further examples of this from my 2008 bike trip from Far Rockaway to Breezy Point on Flickr. I think I’m always amazed by places like this though, because of the presence of the water. Growing up in a river-culture city doesn’t quite have the same effect as the ocean and bay here has on its residents, or more specifically the pace of life on the boardwalk. And like I already mentioned, you wouldn’t go there unless you had to, which while these pictures are devoid of human life don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely bustling down there:

“Would you look at the Virginia Chrome job on that boat!”:

the Rockaways largely lack an economic identity, take for instance these towering residential blocks and a fanciful home that is nearby:

or the juxtaposition of an abandoned house against a sprawling development area:

the 59 Street Marina at night:

the view of the Rockaways over your shoulder to the West as you head north over the Channel on the A train:

What a great flyer made by Brian Yanish from ScrapKins, which is bringing their Recycled ARTs Program to World Maker Faire next month. And yes, he’ll come and pick up your bog rolls and cereal boxes!

He writes:

If you wouldn’t mind saving the following items and throwing them in a bag, I’ll come by and visit and take them off your hands.

Here’s what we need help collecting:

1) Toilet Paper Tubes & Paper Towel Tubes

2) Cereal Boxes and thin food packaging boxes

**Everyone uses an abundance of toilet paper tubes at home, please ask staff, friends and neighbors if they wouldn’t mind saving us a bag or two.**

For all of you out there who claim to yearn for that “old school” New York City experience, or for anyone looking to have one of those ‘I can’t believe that just happened’ New York encounters, I recommend patronizing Boris Shoes at Queens Plaza North – in the Plaza, 2nd floor, on the same level as the entrance to the 7/N/Q subway at Queensboro Bridge just over the bridge.

Let me clarify: I actually don’t recommend Boris Shoes (unless you’re an Experience Hunter like myself). But! If you must, if you have a shoe that needs repair, and want an experience that is unlike any other, that reminds you of that “old school New York” gestalt, then yeah go to Boris Shoes! This guy has been making shoes from scratch for 58 years, and has been at this Long Island City location for longer than I’ve been an independent pay-my-own-rent adult. But be warned: making eye contact with Boris (his right eye, not his left one – like I said I warned you) means your soul – your sole rather – is his. He now owns you. Just the mere act of pulling a shoe out of bag means its his now. And anything he does to it you’re responsible to pay for, even if you didn’t ask for it – otherwise why did you bring him a shoe in the first place? Also he’ll tell you stories. Wonderful stories about young whippersnappers who bring him shoes to fix and never come back to pick them up. It’s a mystery why! But this guy is an artisan. Check out his shoes outside his shop and you’ll see what he’s capable of. Also he himself is always wearing a bitchin’ pair of homemade shoes.

And the real shame? The owner of the Queens Plaza currently has 23,000 sq. ft. of available retail space, and is kicking Boris and a nearby barber and some other shops out soon – even though he doesn’t have another tenant to move in. Boris doesn’t have the security of a lease, and so it’s time to go. Development at the Plaza is booming, and so clearly the landlord thinks he can get a pretty penny in the near-future or far-future if he deals with these tenants now.

PS – he’s Russian. Been in America longer than me. I recommend you learn a couple Russian expressions – he’ll either love you or hate you for it. Use at your own risk!

You can tell that’s not me because my moustache has more zazz than that.

I lurve me some widgets! They provide great interactive functionality, and the best part about them is I don’t have to code them! Sweet! So above is the countdown widget for the 2nd annual World Maker Faire in Queens, NYC. And yes, that is very soon. If you’re planning to be in town, and trying to get information to fit Maker Faire into your schedule, everything you need to know about attending (directions, tickets, hotels) is located here. Hope to see you there!

Copy the code below to add this widget to your website:
<iframe src=”http://makerfaire.com/social/button/” width=”300″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″ ></iframe>

“collaborating” with Stephen Matysik whom I met at I-Park while on residency at their first-ever IDC Program.

I’m in Connecticut (and so can you!). I’m at I-Park with 14 other inter-disciplinary artists, engaging an experimental collaborative residency program. For driving directions from anywhere, click here; for train directions from NYC’s Grand Central, click here (real simple: Metro-North to New Haven, then Shore Line East (SLE) to Old Saybrook – call to I-Park ahead of time and they’ll pick you up from the train station!). Don’t forget to RSVP (so we know how much food and drinks to supply)!

…

Inter-disciplinary Collaborative Projects
Experimental Residency Session
July 30, 2011

2:00     Open Studios
3:15     Formal Presentations, Refreshments
4:00     Site Walk

You should wear comfortable walking shoes for the site walk
RSVP by July 28, 2011 to ipark@ureach.com or 860.873.246

…

The I-Park Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

Chinese farmer Wu Yulu has been in the news and blogosphere before – plenty of times. But I’m hoping some of y’all that read this rag haven’t heard of him before, or seen his wack-tastic inventions. They show that anything is possible – everything in the world can become a ‘bot!

[via The Creators Project]

In NYC (and indeed throughout the Northeast) you’ll hear rumors after you move here about how the sewers spew human waste into the area rivers during periods of excessive raining (or when snow melts, etc.). Well they’re not rumors. It happens. The combined sewer-drainage system creates this effect when it becomes overburdened – the pressure has to go somewhere. But the location of these particular drainage points remains a mystery, even a myth (read: rumor) of sorts until you stumble upon a Wet Weather Discharge Point. They’re clearly marked by the DEP and they look something like this sign. The particular sign I saw (no photo) was accompanied by ‘no swimming, no boating, no fishing’ pictographs. The above panorama is one such discharge point, in north Astoria, hidden in an industrial business district. Click it to embiggen.

I C U

Throw back! It’s 1994 and Jersey-born Suffolk County-raised Craig Mack releases “Flava in Ya Ear” which tops at #9 on US Billboard, #4 on R&B and #1 on Rap charts; it features throughout the music video prominent shots of structures throughout Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. There’s the Queens Theatre in the Park flying saucer buildings, the Unisphere, and my favorite sighting the Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) – where at one point Craig Mack becomes a colorful but frame-dropping hologram! The Great Hall was built for the ’64/’65 World’s Fair and last year used as the staging area for 2010′s World Maker Faire tesla coil performances by Arc Attack (below). You see, I have or had, the Flava in Ya Ear single on LP, way back when – so that song has a special place in my heart. I don’t remember the music video at all to be honest, but the LP (if I still have it), lives in a box in the basement of my good friend John Pitts, and it was his twin brother Jello who just yesterday put up Craig Mack’s video on his facebook wall – so you see, it’s all full circle now! Life is weird like that, no?

Cmon! Everybody does it. “I wonder what Google Image Search thinks looks like me?” These are my results, below, which notably include Barack Obama, an Avatar-ed Barack Obama, I think that’s Tom Cruise, some politicians, Jon Stewart, a crazy guy in a Master Chief helmet, some religious figures, and various footballers and military officers (the jacket flare can’t quite be compared to!), among others:

And there’s a fast and furious way of doing this with any web-located image (Facebook profiles anybody) of you (or anybody!) online: in Chrome, install the Search by Image extension; then edit the extension’s options to ‘Show [camera] when hovering over an image’ and it will then do exactly that, over ANY image (jpg, png, gif!? yup!). From there it’s cakewalk. And what’s extra crazy is that your search result is databased, so there’s a hypertext URI you can bookmark for your results! (I don’t know How In The Hell that works!)

I met Kurt Boone over the weekend, at the annual Bike Film Festival street fair. I first heard about Kurt a few months ago when I saw a screening of his poem “Alley Cats” (below), a quick verbal summation of pedal-powered work & life on the streets of NYC, delivering the goods. Kurt is a poet, a Queens resident (from Jamaica), and NYC’s fastest messenger; he’s also super friendly, oh and he has an ongoing Messenger Poet Show on KoldCast.TV

The weather was inclement and I got pretty well rained on twice, but I guess if you’re gonna get rained on I’d rather be rained on while on Fire Island than in Queens! Specifically, these shots are from the Davis Park area of the island, further east than the Pines or the typical beach-tourist areas. Big ups to my friend Sam Shamoo for inviting me out for the day, and giving me a tour. I never realized how accessible the whole area is, until you have a way in. And then you realize it’s really right next door – reaffirming my belief in the awesomeness that is the East Coast and this Long Island I live on in particular (yes, Brooklyners, you live on Long Island too!). Because it was a weekday, and because the weather was iffy, that meant there was almost no stragglers on the beaches and throughout the trails, which was both wonderful and spooky.

Everybody on the island is especially friendly, and talkative, and it was pretty simple to strike up conversations in passing. After all, if you’re there – from the “main land” or in from the city – you clearly want to be there, you made the effort, and so you might as well enjoy yourself and the company around you.

Captions to follow:

Lots of lovely trails in the area.

Sam’s BIG Bench, I mean it’s BIG! Anchored to a ridiculously giant tree that washed ashore some years ago. It’s confusing where in the hell a tree like that came from, probably from 50+ miles away.

A whale’s invertebrate bone looks like a skull from above!

Some say bocce but I say it’s more likely a horseshoe box.

There are many wonderful people on and passing through the island, daily:

A local deli, “featuring”… spices!

The western edge of the National Seashore – enacted September 11, 1964, this stretch of federally protected land is undeveloped, forever more.

Bone Sign.

Zoom in. You’ll see the local post office is only open in July and August. And oh yeah it’s also a free lending library! 11772 you rock!

And lastly there is some truly unique and stunning architecture on the island – I wish there was an ‘open house’ type event so I could see the interiors of all these domiciles:

What began with a 3D scan of Stephen Colbert’s head (who was subsequently turned into a terrifying teddy bear, Capitol Hill eagle-monster and tentacled Colbertopus – episode clip here) has turned into a 3D printing frenzy of NY Notables: “Hackers, bloggers, artists, musicians, comedians and anyone else we think is notable” as the MakerBot blog says.

MakerBot Industries marketing director Keith Ozar invited me round to their “creative space” and studio on Dean Street, covered my head and ‘stache with a blanket of corn starch (the 3D scanner is unable to render any hair that isn’t golden blonde), and I was then scanned by their current artist-in-residence Jonathan Monaghan, who has been digitally touching up the scans and then printing many dozen New Yorkers, miniaturized to approximate 4″ busts.

I intentionally went shirtless as I was going for a ‘caveman’ look, which I think was rendered quite well. Oh yeah and the best part about MakerBot is Thingiverse! You can totally download my likeness and print your own Nick Normal! Thanks Keith for the invite, Tom for the photos, Jonathan for the render and Bre for such a wonderful machine – this really is the future today!

An exhibition of around 40 New York Notables will take place at MakerBot HQ next Thursday, June 30th, from 7-10pm @ 314 Dean Street at 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn. I’ll be there from around 8:30 on. See you there!

A MakerBot in action, printing another Notable head, using a honeycomb structure to build up the sculpture:

[full photo set on my Flickr]

So one of my personal philosophical dilemmas is sand. Not sand at the beach, but deserts. The thought of continental sand really bothers me, it’s something my mind can’t seem to resolve. It also plagues me, thinking that there are huge, vast tracks of land that we can’t do anything with. However all that sand in the desert might be useful after all, if one Abu Dhabi-based professor has his way, making bricks from bacteria that “cement” sand without heat:

I’m not saying it resolves my notions of continental sand, but maybe there’s a sustainable architecture that can at least put me at ease!

[via dvice]

Lego orerry by V&A Steamworks:

IBM is 100 years young, and unlike some high-value gadget companies they’re actually responsible for a ton of the tech we use or pass by in our daily lives – with a centennial website about their “second century”.

And no, CNN, you’re wrong, Apple in fact did not “invent” the personal computer – that’s just their monthly allowance cheque to you talking.

office killer, turn any JPG into a Commodore-64-esque image at C64yourself:

these two characters will never cease to get old. Wasn’t this like 10 years ago? Cloud vs Sephiroth, with Aeris’s cure ability thrown in for good measure:

regarding this diagram of geek culture, I disagree (or rather dis-associate) mostly with Geek Idols, and relate mostly with Geek Obsessions – what does that say about my personal geekathon?

If you can’t figure this one out then you clearly don’t know me! Progress shots showing the current state of my box thingy for Figment Project this weekend – oh yeah I’m in that, so swing by if you can! It’s built entirely from scrap wood without the use of a table saw, which is pretty impressive given my constraints, lack of budget, and the temperature these days. I still have to embed all the soft switches, and solder all the wiring – so still about 5-6 hours of work there; plus I still have to figure out how to transport this thing to the island, either Thursday late afternoon or Friday day sometime. Friday day is looking like the best possibility – so if anyone out there has a car and is available, I’d rather pay you than a taxi driver I’ll never see again! Anyhow not bad for a one-day build-n-hack. And the name of this piece – for those in the know – is ‘Your Lack Of Stress Is Stressing Me Out’. I don’t know where I’m placed on Governor’s Island – but I shouldn’t be that hard to find, just listen for the really, really loud 8-bit noises.

and finally…

FRIDAY JUNE 3RD

9PM-LATE | 9-10PM OPEN BAR
$10 before 11pm or with costume; $15 otherwise
Bordertown takes place in a converted trolley repair station scheduled to be demolished this summer
1428 FULTON ST (at Tompkins Ave)
BED-STUY BROOKLYN
Subway: A, C to Kingston-Throop Aves
www.weareswimmingcities.org
All proceeds go to Swimming Cities’ Ganges River project in India, fall of 2011

Choose your allegiance between the two fabulous party nations of VULGARIA & TAKISTAN. After an impassioned disagreement over whether a Pomeranian’s nose is mauve or puce, a great wall has been erected between them, patrolled by the world’s sexiest border guards.
Celebrate the absurd & arbitrary nature of borders, bureaucracy, and class inequality with us in this epic event that is designed to inspire the joys of insurrection, freedom, & integration.

The grungy Eastern Block gypsy state of VULGARIA invites you to celebrate the most debaucherous of holidays, National Vulgaria Day, the filthiest drunken day of the year. Festivities ruled by the corrupt dictator DAVO, featuring The People’s National Thieves Market ,Tattoos, Rickshaw rides, Raunchy Street Food, Bike Jousting, Catherine the Terrible’s Cossack Guard, Fortune Telling at the Altar of Saraghina, The People’s Steam Room, visuals by DJ Fuzzy Bastard and Surprises!

The opulent monarchy of TAKISTAN invites you on the day of the great royal wedding to enjoy decadent attractions, featuring His Majesty’s Royal Casino, Princess Cupcake’s Naughty Boudoir, The Grand Inquisitor’s quiz show, Dr. Adventure’s Royal Guard, The Royal Passport Scavenger Hunt, the Royal Ultra-Tacky Runway Show, Live acts by Laura McMillian of the Egyptian Shumba and by Sugar in the Gas Tank, S&M Royal Wedding Visuals by The Housewives’ Guide to Anatomy, Dirty Uncle Pony Rides, and More Surprises!
Dress in your Princess Best for a chance to wed the dashing Prince of Takistan!

Patriotic Libations include: Vulgaria’s national cocktail “The Three-Legged Mule” and Her Majesty’s royal imbibement “Groundskeeper’s Embrace at the Summer Palace” and yes, back by popular demand “Morning After Pill Jello Shots!”

…

COSTUME SUGGESTIONS

VULGARIA
SARAGHINA 8 ½
COSSACKS
STROMBOLI
ANAMATRONIC FORTUNE TELLING GYPSY BOOTH
DRUG FRONT BOARDWALK FORTUNE TELLER
BORDELLO MADAM
COCKTAIL THIEVING MONKEY
GHOST OF RASPUTIN
MUSTACHE CONTEST
INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER PLAYBOY

TAKISTAN
THIRD WORLD DICTATORS (THE DEVIL WEARS TAUPE)
GADAFFI SEXY BODYGUARDS
CARABINIERI
JERSEYSHORE VICTORIAN
IVANA TRUMP AND LIBERACE’S PROM NIGHT IN MONACO
SIGFRIED AND ROY
MICRONATION ROYALTY
GROOMED POODLE “STANDARD” WITH SHOWPAPERS
MUSTACHE CONTEST
“WHAT IS THAT, VELVET?”
PRINCESS! PRINCESS! PRINCESS!

The Crucible bills itself as “A Nonprofit Collaboration of Arts, Industry and Community” – basically it’s a metalshop, a woodshop, a glassblowing studio, a ceramics studio, a dance studio, bike repair shop, and just about every creative industrial art you can imagine. Housed in a warehouse of I-can’t-even-approximate how many square feet (I just looked online, it’s 47,000 square feet!), the Crucible’s current digs are substantial to say the least. What’s also substantial is that they launched in 1999 with a grant of only $1,750, and even when they moved into these current digs (in 2003), they only had 5 full-time staff – they’re largely volunteer ran and supported.

[complete photo set on my Flickr]

Following my tour of Sonoma County (Sebastopol, Occidental and Monte Rio), I hitched a ride with Sheena from the Maker Faire team who was conveniently taking a class on Saturday morning at the Crucible – this facility was already on my docket of places to see during this West Coast excursion, ever since having met Kier (below) briefly at the Maker Faire Bay Area 2010 when he was running the Crucible’s fire engine and industrial arts demos for that event. Sheena went off to her class and I gave myself a self-guided tour of the Crucible’s facilities.

I gave two laps around the facility and introduced myself to as many staffers as possible. There’s more equipment and facility here than I could fathom to learn, which is remarkable that it’s all made available to the public through classes, workshops and even internships. In short, it’s an absolutely wonderful place and if you ever get a chance I highly recommend taking a class there and supporting their mission. Now, on with the photos!

The Crucible from above; this is only about 1/12th of the available floorspace and workshop area.

This is Kier giving me the low-down on the Crucible; you can’t see it but behind him is a giant flame and kiln which he’s warming up for a glass workshop later in the day (photo of the flame at the end!).

Woodshop including lots of hand tools, benches, wood-turning machines, saws, so much more!

death box – only one crossbone, nice!

the welding pods – the red plastic panels make it so you can watch people from outside; or to protect you when you accidentally glance over that is!

Machine or Art?

Bike repair studio – including lots of frames and bike projects.

Gas! Lots and lots of compressed gases power this place.

Jennifer at the reception desk, crocheting with brass wire.

The giant glass kiln flame, warming up for the workshop later in the day. Kier told me this thing also helps keep the Crucible warm in the winter – when it gets down to a chilly 50F in Oakland! Hah!

Stella is a beautiful boxer with tons of energy and a gorgeous underbite. Trained not to kiss, it’s impossible for her not to play – and she has a particular knack at dragging 8′ lengths of branch on the beach, among other traits:

Some shots from my walking tour of San Francisco yesterday. It’s actually oddly difficult to take a level shot here, because of the hills – you find yourself constantly leaning to one side or the other. And I think my shots would all – ALL – be off-level if it wasn’t for the built-in bubble level in my G12! Because I took a couple shots without the level turned on, and they’re way off. And it’s one thing to take a photo on a hill, it’s another to drive or bike when you’re constantly on an angle!

You can see other shots from my walking tour Day 1 on my Flickr.

In that order, from left to right, these windows grace one of the exits of the Hunters Point station (7 train) in LIC. I love how each “window” is a unique layout of bricks, and especially how the Burgers window is just a bunch of bricks crammed into a hole!

Unfortunately Sparky isn’t a neighborhood dog. His mom lives in Woodside and she was just passing through, pushing him home in his cart. You see her brother was throwing away this carpet and well, that’s a nice carpet, you can’t just throw that to the curb, so she pushed Sparky all the way to LIC from 64th Street in Woodside, and was pushing him – and the carpet – all the way back to Woodside. I met them on 41st Avenue & 24th Street, so they had a ways to go.

And that’s one of the really amazing things about this city. This lady was already pushing this cart on a 3+ mile return journey (not to mention the 3+ miles she walked to get the carpet!), and with traffic and at her speed, probably a 2-hour journey. And she didn’t even flinch! 3 miles in any other city and you’d be insane to want to walk that far – and here it’s just part and parcel of the land. New Yorkers like to walk!

It’s out there. And it lights up too (also, you’re being watched when you’re approaching Perfection).

Easter Egg Hunt at Gantry Plaza State Park – less of a hunt, and more like a stampede!

9th annual Kite Flight at Socrates Sculpture Park – even the tape is green!

Kite Flight in action – a good windy day indeed

container garden in Astoria

probably my favorite domicile in all of Astoria, this house property goes all the way through from block to block, with a huge “backyard” garden and cobblestone driveway

green garage door – it was painted after the windows were filled in with plywood

lots of places in Queens with this rough growth – not the best light, I’ll be back!

Nearly 5 years after I purchased my Canon G7, I’ve finally upgraded (I’m no brand loyalist, but I’ve stuck with Canon for many reasons which I’ll detail later – I got the G12). Ironically in the same weekend that I decided on the upgrade purchase, my Flickr account surpassed the 10,000 public photos mark – I can’t believe it. I seriously never thought I’d make it this far, and I didn’t notice it almost until it was too late.

I keep multiple backups, and my Flickr is but one that is viewable by y’all. I use Flickr for the obvious reasons like sharing – it’s nice to know what my friends like, or to share collective memories. Almost more astonishing than the 10k flickrs though are the views – also in the same week I surpassed the quarter-million views mark, and already stand at over 255k views! I don’t even consider my photostream particularly “hot” or trend-setting, but the thought that each photo gets seen an average of 25 times is pretty wonderful. And if I quit taking photos today (I can’t!) I would be happy with knowing that number will only continue to grow. So it’s interesting to look back over recent photosets, emerging photosets, and some of the photosets that started this whole craze for me.

I purchased my G7 in July 2006 and almost instantly I started taking better pictures. And thus more pictures, and then organizing them better and using better meta to track them. This makes sense! So what began with a trip to Budapest and eventually documented a nearly year-long eviction, and return to NYC after a sojourn to the Midwest and New Orleans, recently with increasing focus on Maker culture and events around that movement, has accounted for the bulk of my 10,000 Flickrs – just a snippet of which exists below (and above, the Queens Plaza development is an ongoing use of social media to document the redesign of one of the busiest intersections in NYC that I thankfully and sometimes scarily call Home!).

this piece of clever graff was spotted in the Spring Street C/E station – I’d say 99% of the billboards on the platform were covered where a moustache would be applicable!

Honestly this only reinforces my opinion about how I never understood the desire to live in Manhattan – after all the really wonderful views of the skyline are to be had from the other side of the river, or in this case from Roosevelt Island (technically in New York County, but really it’s own territory!). Not to say that perspectives of areas in Queens and Brooklyn aren’t lovely, but I prefer the vantage from those boroughs, to gaze upon Manhattan; I like to “go” to the City, but not to live there. Or at the very least, I just really love these views! Views that Manhattanites will almost never see because they (sometimes pretentiously) never leave their borough.

Spotted in DUMBO, Brooklyn – this is probably the most pro drywall job I have ever seen! It’s also a bit of an overkill – such a giant warehouse to park that little car in! Hopefully they’ll actually make use of the ceiling height, otherwise they should only paint as high as they need, and that would be a waste of an awesome drywall job!

This is a sad, sad day, and not from any sense of nostalgia or sense of loss – after the first 18 very good years, having lived in Chicago, London and then Brooklyn and now Queens, I’m pretty comfortable with the thought that I’ve “moved on”. But it was – it IS – a good home. And it disgusts me that the Recession has plunged this housing crisis so far into the abyss that there’s no sign of return – and this domicile which should easily sell in the $300k range is now available for a steal (it’s like they’re paying you) for $175k, half of what it should sell for. Meanwhile there’s a $90mil apartment up for sale on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Of course I understand that it’s all about “location location location” – and St. Louis’s Tower Grove East neighborhood is not East 80th Street (the way my blog isn’t Curbed). But taking into account the initial cost of the house, and adjusting for inflation over 32 years, along with factoring in the money invested in maintaining this house (which is one of the oldest on the block and in the neighborhood at large) – just the sheer hours alone keeping the place “modern” – a price tag of $175k is gutting. Just heartbreaking really. As if in the end you’re paid $5k and told, “Thanks for the memories, Now Get Out!”

I mean just take a look at this place and tell me it isn’t awesome!

Here’s the listing proper.

This wonderful woodwork greets you as you walk in the front door:

The living room has a built-in bookcase and absolutely giant mirror:


The kitchen is old, sure, but there’s a whole another side that isn’t even pictured:

The master bedroom – this is where my parents made me! – has an attached room (through the curtains) that is as big as the smallest bedroom:

This was my first bedroom as a kid:


Then I upgraded to this room:

And finally the top floor. These rooms are HUGE. The two-tone tiles are 1′ square, so do the math. For several years of my life I had both of these rooms to enjoy:

And there’s a basement! Also not pictured. A giant room which leads directly to the back yard. And the trees out front produce these wonderful red berries that local birds love. And to top it all off, there are some hidden compartments in the house, and I embedded some time capsules in my time there too – those alone are worth the $175k exploration price-tag! Who knows, maybe me blogging this will lead to a sale, but in all likelihood this will stay on the market for a little longer and then simply fade into obscurity.

…

America has a housing problem.

I know I have one! This one was spotted on the streets around Broadway & 29th Street in LIC.

All the handball courts around NYC and by extension across America owe tribute to the sport of Gaelic Handball whose origins date back to the 13th and 14th centuries in Ireland, and whose rules were standardized in the 18th century.

(above two photos from Flickr)

Of course various forms of a “hand ball” game date back to BC, with various forms being found around the globe. But the modern version you might see played at a site such as the West 4th Street Court Facilities (two pictures above) are particularly indebted to their Irish cousin-sport.

I never knew!

Until I had discussions with West Kerry-based artist Andrew Duggan about his exhibition which is imminently ending (tomorrow!) at the Irish Arts Center on Manhattan’s west side. A site-specific video artist, I can only hope this video gets another NYC screening, because it really has a lot to do with sport & class & other issues that many New York City residents are effected by and talk about – issues of ownership, property, social recreation, public assembly, and most directly (but in an obtuse fashion) the notion of revitalizing communities and rebuilding formerly abandoned and derelict sites (i.e. for lack of a better word, gentrification).

A very simple installation of two juxtaposed video projections. The image on the right appears still but is a moving image (cars driving in the background, shadows fluctuating), of a handball court in NYC (recognizable by the maple leaf Parks logo in the upper corners of the wall, with accompanying fractured concrete) – on this screen sometimes two players emerge and hit a couple rounds of ball, their figures completely silhouetted against the court (the viewer too is inclined to cut the plane of the image, and impose their own shadow on the court!). The image on the left, however, is the “court” you want to watch. Which is ironic given these Gaelic courts are actually designed (unlike the NYC courts which are clad in cyclone fencing) to not be watched, instead they are simply pits of concrete. But a beautifully blue-dressed lady dances (not literally, but sportfully) with an equally blue ball, confronting the daunting nature and scale of this court, sometimes taking excruciatingly long breaths in anticipation of her next attack.

Such a simple juxtaposition. But this is the power of art – a power which so few other forms of cultural production seem to yield. The ability to look at a wall and interpret it in a way that dance, music, or writing simply cannot. Even my words here fail to enunciate the meaning of these two videos. Months of focus and thinking, summed up in a couple of several minute long videos and now I have an understanding of the world in a way that cannot be undone, cannot be un-thought. The world is a strange and wonderful place, and art makes it better. Andrew makes it better!

Spotted from the pedestrian walkway on the Queensboro Bridge; this People graff is written on the pathway on the southern edge of the Queensbridge Housing projects that connects 21st Street with Vernon Boulevard. It’s orientation clearly intends for it to be read by the residents of those towers. I love it! Meant to say: People Love People. Oddly enough, the first P in People is completely faded. I’ll go down to street level and get a shot from there soon, but in the meantime you can imagine this is what it would look like:

This might be my newest favorite graff, which started with People Love You.

Long Island City is afforded many wonderful views. The now-landmarked Pepsi Cola sign. sits in front of East Coast 7. You can see the area immediately around the sign’s base and behind it for about a block is still being constructed, and full of trailers. There is plenty of construction immediately north of East Coast 7 – which hopefully will be the end of this development craze (not likely) which has been many years in the making. All gentrification issues aside, the State Gantry Park is nicely landscaped these days…

Could be a giant anaconda, or just a pile of really awesome rope!

Outside a shop on the Bowery. get your 40% for 15% off; get 10% off your next 15%, and the sign itself is 40% off for a limited time, ACT NOW!

What’s on SALE? Nobody knows!

wayward kitty spotting in Queens – some cats ran away before I could snap them, but I’ll be back! Will update the full set on my Flickr

Spotted during another one of my many tours of this wonderful town and borough!

[found on teh Interwebs]

click to embiggen. from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Opening tomorrow at the Flux Factory in LIC and running through the weekend in conjunction with all the art fair activity around town, is Democratic Working Title for Now, a smorgasbord group show of current (and community) residents – I’ll be exhibiting the work above, an older piece re-imagined for this showing. Hopefully it generates some dialog, and I’m thinking through another similar piece for this Summer sometime. I hope you can make it out.

March 4-6, 2011
Open hours: Friday-Sunday, 12-7 pm
@ Flux Factory (directions here)

I know they spelled it wrong… twice – but a lot of things in New York City are spelled wrong. I’m sure there’s even a blog out there dedicated to it. But you get the point, and it’s a really dear piece of graff. I like it!

…

We’re All in This Together

WordPress is the result of the combined effort of people from all over the world united with a common goal: to make the best darn web software for publishing your story on the web and sharing it with the world. Here is a list of the more than 180 people who helped out with development during the 3.1 cycle:

Aaron Campbell (aaroncampbell), Adam Backstrom (adambackstrom), John Ford (aldenta), Alex Dunae (alexdunae), Alex King (alexkingorg), Amanda French (amandafrench), Will Anderson (anderswc), Andrea Rennick (andrea_r), Andrew Ozz (azaozz), Andy Skelton (andy/skeltoac), Andy Blackwell (andyblackwell),André Renaut (arena), Andrei Vereha (avereha), Azizur Rahman (azizur), Barry Abrahamson (barry),Mohammad Jangda (batmoo), Beau Lebens (beaulebens), Ben Ward (benward), Matthew G. Richmond (bigdawggi), Rowan Rodrik van der Molen (bigsmoke), Glenn Ansley (blepoxp), blt4, bobbyblade, Boone B. Gorges (boonebgorges), Brian Colinger (briancolinger), Brian Layman (brianlayman), Caesar Schinas (caesarsgrunt), Ben Casey (casben79), Chip Bennett (chipbennett), Chris Sfanos, Chris Jean (chrisbliss18),Marco Cimmino (cimmo), Scott Reilly (coffee2code), Dylan Kuhn (cyberhobo), Darren Meehan (darrenmeehan),Dion Hulse (dd32), Dean Robinson (deanjrobinson), Demetris Kikizas, Δημήτρης Κίκιζας (demetris), Denis-de-Bernardy, djzone, Доктор Бро (doktorbro), Donal MacArthur (donalmacarthur), Dougal Campbell (dougal), Dre Armeda (dremeda), Jon Cave (duck_), Doug Provencio (dougwrites), Edward Hevlund (edward mindreantre),Einar Egilsson (einare), Eric Mann (ericmann), Austin Matzko (filosofo), Gil Rutkowski (flashingcursor), foofy,Francesco Laffi (francescolaffi), Gary Cao (garyc40), Justin Tadlock (greenshady), Reuben Gunday (greuben),hakre, Hui Chen (huichen), Ben Huson (husobj), Matt Thomas (iammattthomas), Ian Stewart (iandstewart),indie-ulf, Jacob Santos (jacobsantos), Jakub Míšek (jakub.misek), James Collins (jamescollins), Jane Wells (jane/janeforshort), jayjdk, Jason Penney (jczorkmid), Jeff Farthing (jfarthing84), Josh Kearney (jk0),joelhardi, John Blackbourn (johnbillion), John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby/jjj), John O’Nolan (johnonolan),John Bloch (JohnPBloch), Joost de Valk (joostdevalk/yoast), Aaron Jorbin (jorbin), Joseph Scott (josephscott), Justin Rainbow, Kapeel Sable (kapeels), Adam Harley (kawauso), Jorge Bernal (koke), Daryl Koopersmith (koopersmith), Lance Willett (lancewillett), Lutz Schroeer (latz), Lew Ayotte (layotte), linguasite, Lloyd Budd (lloydbudd), loushou, mailnew2ster, mako09, Mark Jaquith (markjaquith), Mark McWilliams (markmcwilliams),MattyRob, Mauro Gentile, Michael Adams (mdawaffe), Chris Meller (mellertime), Michael Fields (mfields),MichaelH, Mike Schinkel (mikeschinkel), Robert Chapin (miqrogroove), Michael “Mitcho” Erlewine (mitchoyoshitaka), David McFarlane (mrmist), mrwok, John Havlik (mtekk), Martin Widmann (mwidmann),Andrew Nacin (nacin), Nikolay Bachiyski (nbachiyski), Nathan Rice (nathanrice), Niall Kennedy (niallkennedy),Bernhard Riedl (neoxx), Nick Momrik (nickmomrik), Nils Juenemannn, Nicolas Kuttler (nkuttler), nootron,norbertm, Dominik Schilling (ocean90), ohanesian, Samuel Wood (Otto42), Ozh Richard (ozh), Pádraic Brady,Franklin Tse (peaceablewhale), Pete Mall (PeteMall), Phill Brown (phill_brown), Phill Kenoyer (PhillKenoyer),phrostypoison, Michael Pretty (prettyboymp), Simon Prosser (pross), Ptah Dunbar (ptahdunbar), Harsh J. Chouraria (qwertymaniac), Ran Yaniv Hartstein (RanYanivHartstein), Rasheed Bydousi (rasheed), Daniel Jalkut (redsweater), rfw, Rasmus Lerdorf (rlerdorf), Ryan McCue (rmccue), Roger Theriault (rogertheriault),ronbme, rovo89, Ryan Boren (ryan), Sara Cannon (saracannon), Scott Bressler (sbressler), Scott Kingsley Clark (sc0ttkclark), ScottMac, Silviu Cristian Burca (scribu), Sergey Biryukov, Сергей Бирюков (SergeyBiryukov), Alex Petrescu (SeyelentEco), Shawn Parker (shawnparker), shidouhikari, Simon Wheatley (simonwheatley), Matt Martz (sivel), Samir Shah (solarissmoke), sorich87, Mitch Canter (studionashvegas),t31os_, Tracy Cannon (TECannon), tech163, Aaron Brazell (technosailor), TheDeadMedic, Tim Moore (tmoorewp), Tobias Bäthge (TobiasBg), Tom Lany (tomthewebmaster), tonyf12, Utkarsh Kukreti (Utkarsh), Zé Fontainhas (vanillalounge), John Hawkins (vegasgeek), Michael Stewart (vericgar), Alex Mills (Viper007Bond),Vladimir Kolesnikov (vladimir_kolesnikov), wahgnube, wedsxcrfv, Peter Westwood (westi), whoismanu, Will Norris (wnorris), Wojtek Szkutnik (wojtek.szkutnik), wpcanyon, William P. Davis (wpdavis), Ron Rennick (wpmuguru), Kenneth Newman (WraithKenny), Yoav Farhi (yoavf), and Safirul Alfreda (zeo).

I think I’d roll with the Bowery Boys, whose “activities” including volunteer firefighting and supporting nativist causes! When not brawling with the Dead Rabbits that is.

[full photoset on my Flickr]

So the CRASS art exhibition is up at Andrew Roth Gallery in the Upper East Side (until March 18), and it has some people up in arms (namely, the “Godfather of Hipsterdom”, Gavin McInnes, co-founder of VICE and now of Street Carnage acclaim – I actually want to say thank you Gavin for tracking down some of this content, namely the videos below, it’s really good stuff.). I guess, specifically, the “commercial” angle of the gallery has some people upset – frankly, I don’t care. I didn’t go there to buy anything, not only because I know I can’t afford it, but because I wouldn’t want to buy anything they had.

I went there to see things I had never seen before and would probably never get the chance to see again, because in the 80s and most of the 90s (when I “grew up“) the Internet didn’t exist and you actually had to see and do everything in person – and well, Punk was important to my youth and the youth of my peers, but even the big bands never came through town. We had to make our own scene, because the market – i.e. capitalism – of Punk in the midwest simply wasn’t sustainable for tours and sales. Simple.

So back then, when the ONE copy of Feeding of the 5,000 on vinyl came into town, it actually made headlines – we talked about it, maybe we could buy it together, and in the end I now have one of those “YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU” posters – but 90% of the content in this exhibition I had never seen before, and frankly it’s brilliant stuff. It’s necessary – to see it, read it, and appreciate it. There’s lots of text, it’s not splashy and visual – it takes time, you have to give this art your time. You have to read, to put things into context, to go back in time. It’s actually really good. Not many art shows do this anymore.

But scroll down, it gets better.

My only other comment about the exhibition is that the crowd – the punters – were genuinely into the show. Sure it was commercial, sure it was a little ridiculous overhearing the gallerist say to one of his clients or long-time sales-holes, “So this is Punk.” – but for the most part everyone was very excited with the opportunity to relive – not in a nostalgic way – the importance of this ephemera.

Not done yet.

On the flip side of things, Gavin recently recorded this interview with Penny Rimbaud which is another piece of brilliant content. Penny talks about the murder of Wally Hope, and over nearly 40 minutes explain how Crass came about due to Wally’s death:

“Without the murder of Wally Hope, you wouldn’t have Crass and without Crass you wouldn’t have anarcho punk and I often wonder where the modern anarchist movement would be like if anarcho punk had never happened.” – Gavin McInnes

Elsewhere in the world, Steve Ignorant is currently on tour, re-singing old Crass tunes – which also has some punks up in arms, thinking that their identity is being pillaged and ticketed without their consent. But he’s pretty clear, “THIS AIN’T CRASS.” It’s “Steve Ignorant Presents The Last Supper (Crass Songs 1977-1984)” – I get it. It actually makes sense. And it’s just another project, another interpretation of an idea. Even Penny Rimbaud concluded, “Initially I was quite angry at the time, but then I thought, “Oh, fucking hell. Lay off, Penny.” (from this wonderful interview)

I met Steve briefly in London in 2001, at the Victoria and Albert Museum (who own original record sleeves donated by Gee Vaucher) in South Kensington when he performed a Punch & Judy puppet performance (scroll down, Night of Leisure) – it was scathing, puppet-bloody and brutal, and brilliant. Had a very short chat with him afterwards (he won’t remember me), I simply wanted to gauge his position. He was very honest about his art, very grateful for his audience, and very questionable of authority. He was, in one word, true. I’m sure The Last Supper is no different.

Here’s a video of what the tour has to offer:

And taking advantage of current social media trends, on Steve Ignorant’s own website (which is proudly powered by WordPress I might add!), he’s asking punks of past to send in photos from their heyday to be projected on stage during the concerts – submit your pics here.

And lastly Steve talks about how The Last Supper originated, and what the purpose of this whole thing is about:

and here are the 2011 North America tour dates if you’re interested:

Thursday MARCH 10 New York, NY @ Santo’s Party House
Friday MARCH 11 Montreal, QC @ Le National
Saturday MARCH 12 Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
Sunday MARCH 13 Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
Wednesday MARCH 16 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
Thursday MARCH 17 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
Friday MARCH 18 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
Tuesday March 22 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Friday March 25 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar

There’s a magical water fountain in Central Park dispensing snowflakes instead of drinking water!

Also, I hope you don’t mind but I turned it on overnight.

that’s the tagline – written in stencil lettering – from a flyer, circa 1977 or so, during the heyday of CRASS – an exhibition of “visual and aural mayhem” will open tonight at Andrew Roth Gallery in the upper east side, all selections from the Mott Collection.

On another note, check out this awesome gem – an episode of Ready Steady Go! from 1964, when the Beatles met and awarded top art prize (at the 2:50 mark) to Jeremy Ratter aka Penny Rimbaud, drummer for Crass.

and another, if you have 29 minutes to spare – VBS.TV interviews Penny Rimbaud:

It’s that time of year again! And the fine folks from Swimming Cities – who won “Best in Show” at last year’s World Maker Faire – are so close to their goal, raising money for their Ocean of Blood project. They’ve just last week packed a 40′ shipping container with their hand-welded pontoon boats – “sculptural watercraft” – and sent it en route to Farrukhabad in India. That’s paid for. Now they just need to raise money for themselves – so they can actually get there, receive the container, and float their boat down the Ganges River! There are so many wonderful people involved with this project – and so many artists who have donated work for their silent auction – which opens this Saturday and runs for 1 week at Gallery 151 on the Bowery. I’ll be at the opening – and I made this piece, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” (below), specifically for this auction. It’s a light-based motion-sensor dummy camera, covered in flock camo, wall-mounted, with a giant red blinking light! It’s “dummy art”.

Swimming Cities Annual Silent Art Auction

FEATURING 100 SELECTED WORKS BY ARTISTS including:

SWOON, DUKE RILEY, TOM BEALE, IMINENT DISASTER, DICKCHICKEN, BEN WOLF, MONICA CANILAO, ORIEN MCNEILL, BEN MORTIMER, ZACK TUCKER, ANGIE KANG, MARIN TOCKMAN, MAYRA CIMET, TOD SEELIE, DOYLE S HUGE, NICK NORMAL, MARTINA MRONGOVIUS, LOPI LAROE, ROBIN FROHART, GREG HENDERSON, ALEX DYKE, ISAAC ADEN, ANDREW PONEROS PORK, ZEV DAVID DEANS, IRIS STVN LASN, CATHERINE YAEGER, ELIZABETH BENTLEY, HANNAH MISHIN, POLINA SOLOVEICHIK, MALCOLM MCNEILL, GIACOMO FORTUNATO, LESLIE STEM, CHARLIE PRATT, CLAIR HUNTINGTON, KATE SULLIVAN, BUCKY COX, CONRAD CARLSON, BOB MASSE, KATE FOISY, TONY BONES, NOAH SPARKS, AND MORE

FEBRUARY 19th-26th

Opening: Feb. 19th 7pm-1am w/DJ Stache
Closing: Feb. 26th 7pm-1am w/DJ JORO BORO
OPEN BAR sponsored by Original Sin & Brooklyn Brewery

suggested donation $10 at the door*

*one-time donation. show us your bidder id card from the opening event for entry to closing event

This site is under development and reconstruction

the Egyptian President’s website, recreated here for posterity, and humor.

Also alludes to how technological advancements have helped pull so many countries out of the metaphorical gutters. There is still room for improvement, of course, but we’re waaaaay better off now than in 1810 that’s for sure!

Yesterday’s adventure took me to the farthest reaches of northeastern Queens only reachable via the public transportation system known as the subway… dun dun dun, it’s FLUSHING! Seriously what’s the big deal? It’s only 8 express stops away, and even all 18 local stops is still closer and shorter than any train that goes to Coney Island – 18 stops from there won’t even get you to Atlantic-Pacific, let alone back to the City or the L train – but I digress!

The above image says it all for me: the Welcome to China 2011 billboard, the unreadable – by me – shop signs, and the Asian person toting around an American flag-umbrella. This is diversity – and by extension, New York – at its best. Flushing is a whole another world! I headed south on Main Street, walking a leg of the Flushing Freedom Mile, en route to the Queens Botanical Garden (walking gardens during extreme winter conditions is an old past-time of mine).

Crossing the threshold into Flushing – land of big-box stores and Asian markets:

These buildings, their designs and the way they’re constructed with shops wrapping all-around the ground floor, are very Asian-inspired:

check out these sun-faded electronics in a shop window:

I’m sure a person with snow-boots or tennis rackets tied to their shoes could have a lot of fun exploring the QBG – I was prepared but not that prepared, but still managed to snap some wonderful shots (the blown out picture of the Magnolia below was especially captivating, its cupped leaves holding snow):

Finally met up with Gina B. to ask her some questions about compost and worms – which as it turns out they’re having an I <3 WORMS workshop on the 13th, so if you’re looking to give your lucky valentine some good worms (not the bad kind!) the next day, take a look at their calendar. Also check out the aquarium below, which Gina said they found stocked with samples of 3, 4 even 5-year-old compost when they were shuffling around the office last year – sadly, unlike wine, it doesn’t improve with age.

[FULL set on my Flickr]

In between a couple meetings yesterday in Sunnyside and Woodside, I took some time to stroll through those neighborhoods, as well as skirt along Sunnyside Gardens, and stroll through Blissville – yes, there is a neighborhood called Blissville in New York City! Not to be boxed into the area only around the first four stops on the 7 train in Queens, I still consider all of these neighborhoods part of the “greater LIC” – I won’t go into why that makes sense to me now, but it’s all part of an ongoing series, and will be detailed someday. For now, enjoy the vantages, the juxtaposition of commercial and residential, and a peek at some of the best-kept secrets in all of NYC:

Okay maybe not the “best” kept secret, this is a Queens prison. A “correctional facility” as they say. I don’t think I ever noticed this building before, even though it’s the only thing at the intersection – it is kind of designed to not-be-noticed after all.

backyards, deli counters, and never-changed-since-the-1990s era comic book stores are abundant in these areas:

lovely stained glass art at the subway stations along the 7:

when you get off those trains, you’re afforded with some wonderful sweeping skies, and magnificent views of Queens and beyond, including but not limited to top of the Chrysler Building, parts of Times Square, you can see the Queensboro Bridge almost head-on here, and even Big Allis off to the right:

This epitomizes LIC to me, a very quaint residential domicile just blocks away from a heavily commercial, industrial district:


Personally I love these architectural juxtapositions. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a post-industrial city, in a home but I yearned for industry, or maybe because to me it just makes sense to have work and life in the same district.

And of course cutie houses, faux alleys, shopping by the pound, and more hidden streets that never get walked on:

can’t wait… must see!

Written and Directed by Quentin Dupieux aka Mr. Oizo featuring music by Mr. Oizo. I wonder if Chakaia Booker will have a cameo in it?

this one is also recommended, its nice to see a little emotion on the floor:

and yeah, Raf always was my favorite character – for anybody interested in a non-bubblegum TMNT read I highly recommend the “Return to New York” series from 1989 (issues #19-21); this series is what really turned me onto Rafael, and it’s inside-b&w inking still ranks really high on my list:

seriously this one deserves a million views like right now!

Continuing with the recent trend in “ruin porn” – the phenomenon of almost voyeuristic hindsight and awe with America’s urban past and what has become the present – the notoriously iconic St. Louis housing complex Pruitt-Igoe will get an injection of interest next month when the new film The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History premieres at the Oxford Film Festival. That’s Oxford, Mississippi. It’s no surprise to me of course that this film isn’t debuting in St. Louis itself, a city in almost permanent conflict with its own past, identity and desires.

For two years I drove by the grounds where Pruitt-Igoe stood on my way to high school – up North Jefferson, the main street bordering on the west (above). Not that I understood then the impact P-I had on the landscape – I didn’t – but it was even then a point of fascination that something so grande and ambitious was attempted in my fair and diminutif city during an era of otherwise obvious decline. It lasted only 20 years, and was destroyed before I was born – but for the adults around me who lived through that era, something always seemed to stick at their side. Perhaps the film will shed light on what that thing is, but I like to think not – in the same way that looking at the contemporary satellite map above, which we now have easy access to, makes one think “awwww, that’s nice” – and actually yes the green is pleasant to look at – but it’s ultimately impossible to answer the question “What went wrong?”

from Wikipedia

some footage from Koyaanisqatsi shows Pruitt-Igoe getting blow’d up:

…

on another note I’m currently reading Franzen’s The Twenty-Seventh City, which I highly recommend to any native from the region, as well as anyone looking for a good (although I think he’s very cynical at times) American satire.

I know I know, I didn’t explain anything. I’m still figuring it out myself – going to try it on some toast tomorrow morning, so hopefully I survive. Next time maybe I’ll flavor it, but for now it’s just a proof of concept. Hopefully it’ll = YUMS!

Thank You Snowmaggedon!

For 20 more days, Hulu are screening Banksy’s 2010 “documentary” Exit Through the Gift Shop – for FREE (here’s the IMDB link)! Who is Banksy? How does he travel? Who pays him for his acts and stunts? And can his identity really be pinpointed via tax records – I doubt it.

[via Hulu]

60 second Fight Club – not only does it summarize the movie adaptation, but the characters are also spot-on!

the BBC’s upcoming web-exclusive series. this … looks … AWESOME:

camera strapped – looking at the shooter – to a traditional Korean archer’s arrow:

then this white dude made a ‘wide angle’ video response – I like the Korean guy more!

I’d love to see this kid in a battle with the next video stars:

him versus them:

and yes, they are a “them” because, oh I’m not going to get into a critique about Palin Fatigue

meanwhile, in Capitalist Russia… I love how fearless these dudes are:

this one has been making the rounds – it’s long, but it’s really worth it, it’s LSD research conducted in the 1950s, and caught on film:

parrot dubstep dancing (if you’re reading, this one’s for you Shalin!):

Ketchup Race … GO!

FAIL!

most things about NYC tourism are pretty trite. but every now and then you stumble upon something, someone, a group or an act, that really is a gem. I haven’t seen these fellas but I can imagine it’s a good time:

and lastly, last year at the World Maker Faire I curated Dan Perrone’s Uokahd (tapelake) sculpture into the exhibition, and many kids and even young adults where completely baffled by the use of audio tape – if there wasn’t a screen attached they couldn’t comprehend it. They definitely couldn’t understand how the tape had audio on “both sides” or how magnetism was employed – now watch these kids in Montreal (sorry, it’s in French) get baffled by floppy disks, even gameboys (ARE WE THAT OLD?):

which is funny because a couple days ago I got a free ZIP DRIVE at a tech-swap – I still have 15 or so zip disks that I’m trying to get the data off them! Unfortunately the drive is malfunctioning, so I’ll have to wait another 11 years to find a working drive – at least I can try and turn this drive into a marionette!

awesome photo by Marcia Resnick – from a collection of photos titled Bad Boys: Punks, Poets and Provocateurs which opens tonight at Deborah Bell Photographs at 511 W 25th Street in Chelsea, 6-8pm.

The Arts, Culture and Technology meet-up – or just ArtsTech as many of its members quickly shout out – is a great meet-up that explores the convergence between arts, culture and well, technology! ArtsTech is a great informal gathering and presentation series – each speaker is given 6 minutes to blaze through as many slides as possible on their company, product or idea. While most things “tech” are pretty overwhelming for some (i.e. MySQL databases, open-source software, GNU licensing, etc.), ArtsTech is also a LOT about contemporary art. Lisa Niedermeyer from Jacob’s Pillow Dance gave a great analogy that is perfect to what ArtsTech seeks to support, which is that they are not a technology company – and they’re probably the furthest example from “tech” of all the presenters – however because of events like ArtsTech, and through other collaborations, they’ve come to understand how technology helps move their art forward – technology has improved their dance festivals (downloadable brochures), their online archives (I love archives!) and their education outreach. Brilliant!

And big ups to the new Pivotal Labs for hosting this first ArtsTech meet-up of the new year – they’re space is super-fresh (only two weeks old!) and they’re already looking to expand their staff and programming – hopefully many more exciting events will be hosted there this year.

the new Pivotal Labs … lab! in Union Square. Part-production, part-conference, maybe part-coworking I’m not sure, it’s a lovely new space and environment for clients to work from.

Julia Kaganskiy welcoming people, and introducing the meet-up.

Collectrium bills itself as beautiful technology for the art world – their main upcoming feature is they have every artwork from all the major art fairs in a database, so with a mobile phone app you can take a picture of that artwork and find more details (meta!) about it online. Pretty impressive.

Tahir Hemphill talked about his hip-hop word count – which is currently kickstarting in the hope of going public-beta. Here’s a taste of his arts-tech:

and a wonderful talk by Michael from the NYPL on UIX and how people click things, fill out one-question surveys, and attempts to improve public access to public data. The text on his slide is especially fitting for user-interaction design!