Focus Group Tested to Appeal to Everybody

Everyone has to buy, borrow, or illegally download the new DEVO album, "Something For Everybody."

I don't dig the vocals that much, they're a tiny bit over the top, but I can't be mad at it. It's sick. One of their refrains is just a repetitive chant of "Don't taze me brooo, don't taze me brooo." Nothing wrong with that.

WOOOOOOAAAAH.

New Gil Scott Heron album.
Wow.
Watch in HD:

POST 250!

It's a celebration!

Here are two of my friends. One was just snubbed for the silver medal in men's figure skating, and he's pretty cranky.


Sorry Adrian.

Inspiration

News from the front:

Meaghan is back from Ireland! Home safe and sound, she has definitely decreased my productivity because it's much more fun to hang out with your roommate than do homework. But now she's off doing laundry, which works out, since I am in the midst of my final for painting class (or half of it I suppose), which is a self portrait. If I had a nickel for every self portrait I've had to do in art school... I would have $1.10.

So, on my breaks from painting I like to read up on blogs and check out other artists to inspire me to keep painting.

Here's today's inspiration: Mark Khaisman

Click these images, because they are incredible. To blow your mind even more, the only medium used to make these is packing tape. You know, the semi-translucent brownish/red tape? He takes strips of tape and rolls it onto plexiglass and then mounts those on a light box to achieve the glow you see here. Amazing. The more layers of tape, the darker the tone. Visit more work here.

Gehard Demetz

Sweet baby Jesus.

Forget what I just posted. HOBNOX!

THIS IS THE REAL DEAL.

It's too bad I can't play around with it any longer, since the library is closing, but this is blowing my mind. Oh, it's also free.

Oh shit.

This thing.

Click it.

Click it.

Click it.

It is fun.

Saturday at the Library

Spending another Saturday afternoon catching up on the internet and stealing the majority of it's bandwidth to retrieve remixes. and by retrieve I mean download. But don't worry, it's all legal. ALL OF IT. Amazing.



I am sunburned, which is a rare occurrence, but yesterday Meg, Peggy & her little brother Sam and I went to Beavertail State Park just outside of Jamestown. It was very beautiful; a lot of tide pools, big waves, and large rock formations. Sam and I discussed these rocks as he just did a unit in his science class and I took geology last winter (which was one of my favorite classes of the year). Then Mega and I fell asleep on a rock for an hour, which explains the one-sided sun burn I have (she's better off-she uses sunscreen).

The search for jobs has taken a hilarious turn as I've applied to be both a fish monger and a cheese monger. Interestingly enough I will smell terrible after work no matter what I do. Then, if I get hired to work at the Nature Lab I will have the trifecta of terrible smells: Fish, Cheese, Dead Animals. It seems that a pattern is presenting itself. Maybe I should apply to work on a flower farm, you know, even things out a bit.

Time to continue the music downloading; I DJ'd a party with Kamal and Jeremy for the last day of class this summer, and it went pretty well... (well, I suppose there were a few minor problems...) But Jeremy is going to try and make it a regular gig during the school year, and I figure people don't wan to hear the same songs in my set every month, so I have to get creative.

Alright, see you in a few days internets.

Day 2

This is the president of RISD:



I love this school. At the same time, my hands feel like they are about to fall off, and I haven't had to think this hard about art in a LONG time. But that's why I love it.

My spacial dynamics class is awesome, thanks to professor Garreth from the U.K. who lectured us for 8 hours on perception phenomenon and how everything we know is wrong. Which I guess was not entirely correct because I already did know that YES, the world is not in color, just in electromagnetic fields, and yes, perception is not absolute truth. But it was still fun/interesting/exciting to have a professor demand theory be applied to our art instead of the regular craftsmanship compensating for poor ideas. (The bad part now is that we have to scrap craftsmanship and come up with original ideas, which anybody can attest is much harder than it sounds).

Met some really great people here so far, but after these first two days it is apparent why our orientation leaders kept pounding into us that we needed to remember to have a life, as I have done nothing but eat sleep and dream my assignments. Hopefully this weekend will be a bit freer and we can go out for drinks and discuss typefaces at length.

We also saw a video about color constancy that blew my mind, and although I've searched in vain I cannot find it on youtube. Look it up.

So now I have an estimated three hours of homework left, so I'm just taking this break to say hello world, what's up, I'm still alive, RISD is great, and all that shit.

Beep Beep

First Matter of Business

First matter of business when I get to Rhode Island: SAMPLE TIME



I've never heard of this band before, but this is a great song. What can I say, I really really dig the 80's.

Fearless Young Orphans Protecting Earth's Entire Galaxy

BIRDY NAM NAM - THE PARACHUTE ENDING - CLIP OFFICIEL



That Birdy Nam Nam video is sick. I love how well it is synched to the music, but that it doesn't seem contrived. It also makes me when to see Battle of the Planets. My cousins and I used to watch that in Mexico growing up, and we'd have different colored bandanas which were out "visors." This one was me:



It's funny that when I try and talk about cartoons I used to love as a kid with people my age we can never relate, because in Mexico it always took us about ten years to catch up to pop culture. So although I'm an 80's baby, I grew up in the 1970's (relatively speaking).

The Reason I'm Leaving Minnesota

That's right man. This is the reason. Not because I don't like you guys, and not because these aren't hilarious. But because I wanted to be your roommate. But instead you broke my heart. See you never again.

Toy Story 3

Hell yeah. I'm hoping maybe when it's time to do my internship I might be able to go work at Pixar. that would be sick.


I remember watching the original Toy Story when I was 6 years old at the Roseville 4. It was, up to that point, the greatest movie I had ever seen. (The winner before that was a tie between the Lion King and Aladin).

Toy Story 2 was pretty terrible, which is unfortunate. However, the video game for the N64 was surprisingly fun. I remember I spent about a week one summer beating that game. I miss that, I need to get a game system again, those days were great.



This video is funny in that it is posted by someone named Juan Manuel, which is my dad's name.
Anyway, Toy Story 3, you got my attention.

Technology, Entertainment, Design

If you know, then you have already spent countless hours watching these talks (which is not a waste of time like my usual Youtube marathons). If you don't know, then here's what I'm talking about:

TED. Pronounced like the name, but it is an acronym. It is a series of creative thinkers and extraordinary people giving 18 minute talks on any and all subject which are absolutely fascinating. I've spent two hours watching these talks today, and probably a good 10 more hours watching them over the last year. If you want to chill out and watch some cool shit with a pint of ice cream in your hand, then this is what I recommend.

Wall Paper

Thinking about moving and wanting to have a place where I can either paint or put up wallpaper/murals. I'm sick of white walls. Even with all the paintings on the wall it still feels blahhhh.

I kind of want one of these forest murals, but I don't know if I want to shell out the money.



Speaking of which, here's a Cool Hunting Video:

Terminator Salvation

Rent it. You'll save at least five dollars. Better yet, download it. That's my review. Going to the movies with Donald, JP and the Gord is fun, but it wasn't enough to save it. And they made the Adam Sandler "Mr. Deeds," seem like it was the best movie ever made. In reality, Mr. Deeds is only the second best movie ever made, and that is because it made a joke about the Wendy's frosty. I love Wendy's, and Wendy's frosties are the shit. To quote Adrian, "If Wendy was my dead grandmother I'd STILL be having sex with her."

Ty Evans

I got to meet and ask Ty Evans some questions yesterday. He is a super cool dude, and I thought I'd share the amazing intro for the Lakai video he and Spike Jonze filmed, "Fully Flared." I love skate videos.

"Are you kid's using the internet?" "Is that like using drugs?"

The title of this post is actually a question a crazy old woman asked me when I was in seventh grade. Then she pushed me off of a chair. It was at my church.

I can understand her confusion though, if this is where she learned about the internet. I have a feeling this video was produced by someone who wanted seniors to have the most difficult time ever using the internet, by making it a mess of complicated metaphors, and skipping basic steps, such as "How to type a url." 

Things I want to write about without clever titles (AKA Quick and the Dead weekend)

A few weeks ago I went to the 'Quick and the Dead' opening at the Walker Art Center. It was sick. The last show to go up there was Elizabeth Peyton's 'Live Forever,' which has probably gotten more groans than any other show I've seen at the Walker. I liked it, the paintings were different and decent, and lent a familiarity to celebrities unlike other portraits, but overall it was nothing that got me riled up. I overheard someone say "It seems like she didn't necessarily have the most talent, but the best connections." Isn't that true in all arenas of life?

The QATD was super sick though. Conceptual art, which used to be the bane of my narrow minded existence, was a breath of fresh air. I went in, and my mind started thinking, and connecting, and thinking, and connecting. (Quick note, I just paused writing and took off my head-phones because I heard a really loud motor noise - turned out it was my dad, snoring, who is staying at my apartment for my sister's graduation). The Quick and the Dead is filled with pieces that deal with time and space, the type of art Einstein would have really dug (maybe). It includes a wheel which is frozen into a block of ice everyday, several time capsules, an interactive sound room, and on and on. It was curated remarkably, because it packs deep thought, aesthetics, humor and plain ridiculousness into a few galleries and then waits there patiently, ready to slap you in the face.

I've been planning on writing a critique on conceptual art and why no one likes visiting art museums, because I think that the general public hates it, as I did, before I learned anything about it, and I think that it is a valid point. No one ever wants to acknowledge that you have to be 'in he know' to understand and appreciate conceptual art, and therefore a lot of museum-types like to stick up their noses and pretend they're better for understanding the complex issues and concepts in the art, when really all they've proven is they have had a lot more of an explanation than the average visitor. Conceptual art is great, for everyone, but it is no good unless you know the history or story behind a piece.

Anyway, the point it, QATD is a good show because it has a lot of explanation (at last) which often does not accompany the artwork at my fine establishment. Therefore it is applicable to the masses.

So, back to me.

I went, saw it, it was sick, had a free drink, slammed two more because I didn't realize how early it closed, and got yelled at A LOT for taking secret pictures (like the film of that horse up there). Then I ran into my boss Witt at the coat-check on the way out, and he told me to hitch a ride with him to a Skoal Kodiak show on the Westbank. So, I said, "Fuck it, alright," and hopped in the Scion with him and his three friends.

Upon getting to the Westbank I realized I was going to look pretty stupid in a punk house/unlicensed venue dressed in my Calvin Klein blazer, so I took it off, along with my tie. Upon exiting the Scion, however, I realized I was now freezing. We walked through the ghetto-in-the-sky and hopped a fence, then meandered through a few yards and finally found the secret venue. When we got to the door we were informed that Skoal Kodiak was not playing, and Witt got really bummed, but then cheered up when he remembered we still had stuffed about a case of beer into our collective pockets, so we decided to have our drinks and watch the acts that followed.

At this point I made my way to the bathroom, where I passed my friend Anna from high school, said hello, and then stepped into this room, which was funny enough that it warranted taking pictures:
Have you ever been in the middle of taking a shit and wanted to start cooking waffles? Have you ever said to yourself, "You know what would be efficient of me? Taking a piss while doing the dishes."
That's correct. Toilet/kitchen, rolled into one.
Then this band played. I know you can only see this guy, but there were two others, played some pretty solid punk, but I was enthralled in overhearing a conversation a man behind me was talking about. So enthralled, that I Twittered it. Thank god, too, because it allowed me to remember this hilarious quote:

"Well, you know, not too bad for fifty."

"Yeah, I'm fifty and hanging out with all these teenagers. (Laugh)"

"Well, you know, I wouldn't guess you were fifty, you've got a full head of hair."

"Yeah, well, it's like, you can have a really big penis, or a full head of hair. And I've got a full head of hair."

And then we left the show, except slightly more intoxicated. So this time, when it was my turn to hop the fence over the parking lot, I ran up, planted my foot securely, vaulted over the top, and flew majestically through the air... and then landed on my tailbone on the concrete, while simultaneously twisting my ankle. At this point, Witt said, "Oh, yeah, I'm tired, I live in Nordeast, find your own way home."

Awesome. So he dropped me downtown, and I sat, cold, at the bus shelter, and waited. And waited. And waited. Then I checked the bus schedule. It turned out that the last bus stopped running at 1:11, and it was now 2:45. So I started walking.

I made it all the way to the Walker Art Center, before I turned around and spotted a taxi, which I flagged down, and it brought me home for a cool $8. When I awoke, I couldn't walk. The moral of the story? Go see the new exhibit, punk venues are not clean, and don't drink and jump.