Friday, October 24, 2008

Stetsasonic and JB's...Plus DJ Babu hosted by Just-Ice...



This is where I'll be tomorrow night...Info from Tools of War...By the way, got an interesting blogsite off the email newsletter, GrandGood.com...

Revised 10/26/08: The highlight of the night for me was a surprise set from Keith Murray, Chuck D was also in the house for Stetsasonic's set. Mike G. and Sammie B. of the JBeez apparently haven't been performing with Africa since his move to the UK, rumor has it, due to something having to do with crossdressing according to North...Anyways, they did a nice little medley set...Sorry, I wasn't feeling People Under the Stairs...After, "All That Jazz" by Stetsasonic, I left...That was enough nostalgia for me...At Nokia Theater the same night, Little Brother and Talib Kweli were playing, but I had to make the choice and it kinda was purely a monetary one, tix for them were $35 plus fees....Stetsasonic was $20...Thank god for Keith Murray...But I am bummed I missed Cadence's set and also YZ seemed to have skills too...I ended up buying a cd from Zimbabwe Legit from VA...

I'm not exactly an ex-Punk, but I know my roots...My Advice, Listen to Arwen...

Revised 10.28.08
Arwen Curry, an old friend of mine has an advice show on Maximum Rocknrolll Radio called "You Got a Problem?"...She was editor (until 2004) of the famous old zine (the current editors are Layla Gibbon and Cissie Scurlock) that is also on the internet now. It's like the Punker's bible and has been for a long time. She gives great advice and the Punk problems are good ones for the most part. Arwen's soothing voice is really suited for the radio. Got a Punk problem? Call her up at (206) 600-1030.

By the way, I don't consider myself a traitor to my Punk rock roots because I also got dazzled by Hiphop. These are moods which I carry with me. Actually, I've kinda developed a blend of the two, like in a piece when you take a color and use it to go to another color or something...Ideologies, only rules meant to be broken if you are open-minded...Plus if you get down to it, that's what is at the root of both ways of life...

Cortocircuito 2008...


So the verdict for the Cortcircuito 5th Annual Latino Short Film Festival is thumbs up for the most part. Free and a reception with empanadas and drinks too...The films span all spanish speaking countries and the festival lasts three days...I think Year of the Pig was my favorite...Shoutout to Steve...

Tonight's PROGRAM 2008

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 7:00 PM

XOCHIQUETZAL, LA CASA DE LAS FLORES BELLAS
Cuba / Documentary / 25 min. / 2007
Directed by Marcela Zamora
Produced by Escuela Internacional de Cine de San Antonio de los Baños –EITCV
A group of middle aged women share the same past and shelter live in the Xochiquetzal Home. The human side of aged prostitutes who have always been regarded as sexual objects and not as women.
Awards: Best Short Documentary at Santiago Alvarez Film Festival

AWARD WINNING SHORT FILMS….

AN INVITATION TO DINE WITH COMRADE STALIN / CONVITE PARA JANTAR COM O CAMARADA STÁLIN
Brazil - Argentina / Fiction / 9 min. / 2007
Directed & Written by Ricardo Júnior Alves
Produced by Universidad del Cine - Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Between dreams and death, Olga and Marily await a dinner guest.
Awards: Best Short and Best photography at Brasilia Film Festival. Best Experimental Short at Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival.

TAXI
Spain / Fiction / B&W / 5 min. / 2007
Directed and written by Telmo Esnal
The city taxi drivers have followed a course on kindness. If you do not make the grade, you will not arrive at your destination.
Awards: Special Award at Cinemad Madrid; Best Fiction at Black & White Film Festival, France; Best Short Film at Festival del Cinema di Brescello, Italy

SIBERIA
Ecuador - Cuba / Fiction / 10 min. / 2007
Directed by Renata Duque Lasio
Produced by Escuela Internacional de Cine de San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba
Havana, 1992. In a Cuba beset by ideological change, Andres, a professor of Russian, sees his world fall apart. He will pay emotionally for not being able to adjust.
Awards: Special Mention at Havana Film Festival, Cuba and Festival de Cine Pobre de Gibara.

FLASH LESSON / LECCIÓN RELÁMPAGO
Mexico / Fiction-Comedy-Satire / 9 min. / 2007
Written & Directed by Alejandro Lubezski
A satire based on Pygmalion and Galatea's myth. Miguel, a famous artist, meets Sofia, a children's books publisher, at a gallery. She goes to his studio to take a flash lesson that will change her life.
Awards: Best Mexican Short Film, Festival Internacional de Cine de Monterrey; Official World Competition at 31 Festival des Films du Monde. Montréal, Canada.

IN THE NET / SAREAN
Spain / Documentary / 4 min. / 2006
Directed by Asier Altuna
Sarean (In the Net) is a short documentary about fishing in the Northern Seas.
Awards: Best short at Guadalajara Film Festival, Mexico; 2nd Prize at Brescello Film Festival, Italy; Best Screenplay at Santa Cruz de la Sierra Film & Video Festival, Bolivia

RED ROJO
Colombia / Animation / HD / 13 min. / 2007
Directed by Juan M. Betancourt & Juan Diaz
Written by Juan M. Betancourt & Juan Diaz
Federico Guillermo, a 7 year-old boy, gets grounded for making a mess in the living room and not wearing his orthopedic shoes. Being unable to take them off, he decides to run away from home.
Awards: Best Short Film at Fantasporto Film Festival, Portugal; Best Experimental Short at Los Angeles Short Film Festival; Best short at Cartagena Film Festival, Colombia, Third Prize at FantAsia Film Festival, Quebec.

HEZURBELTZAK, A COMMON GRAVE / HEZURBELTZAK, UNA FOSA COMÚN
Spain/ Animation / 4:30 min. / 2007
Directed by Izibene Oñederra
The Basque word hezurbeltzak does not appear in dictionaries. It is a non-existing word used to describe socially invisible groups. Its literal translation would be "black bones".
Awards: Special Jury Mention at Animadrid; Best Opera Prima at Zagreb Internal. Film Festival, Croacia; Best Music at Stuttgart Festival for Animated Films, Germany

YEAR OF THE PIG / EL AÑO DEL CERDO
Cuba – Puerto Rico / Fiction / 12 min. / 2007
Directed by Claudia Calderon
Chang Rodríguez, a delivery boy from Havana's Chinatown, is tired of his routine and seeks for anything that'll change his life. Without knowing it, he becomes an instrument of destiny every 12 years, on the Year of the Pig.
Awards: Best Short at Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival, Best Short Film at Viart, Venezuela; Best Short Film at San Juan Film Festival

GALLOS
Spain / Fiction / 3 min. / 2007
Directed & Written by David Pantaleon
Produced by Los De Lito Films
A summer terrace unexpectedly becomes the four walls in which a pair of fighting-cocks fight for their lives to win the grand prize. Outcomes are often unexpected...
Awards: 1st Prize Best Shortfilm Festival del Sol 2008; 1st Prize Canarias Rueda La Palma 2007 Regional Juventud Award 2007 Canarias Rueda Canarias en Corto Award 35 mm.

THE GIANTS, ALCIBIADES AND THE STONE FORREST / LOS GIGANTES, ALCIBIADES Y EL BOSQUE DE PIEDRA
Peru / Documentary / 13 min. / 2006
Directed by Micky de la Barra
Alcibíades, like his forefathers, was born four thousand two hundred meters high up in the Peruvian sierra. This rock forest is considered the most extensive and highest geological forest in the world. He tells us about his life as forest and rock guard.
Awards: Best Young Director at Filmocorto 20007 XI Festival de cine de Lima. Best Short Film at San Francisco Videofest 2007. Best Documentary at Inkafest, 2007

MADE IN JAPAN
Spain / Fiction / 5 min. / 2008
Directed by Ciro Altabas
Written by Iñigo Diaz-Guardamino & Ciro Altabas
A man misses an appointment with his girlfriend. His excuse: "My mother admitted that the man who I thought was my father was not my father."
Awards: Best Short at Houston International Film & Video Festival; Special Jury Mention at Festival Montevideo Fantastico; Special Jury Mention at Kimera Film Festival, Italy

RUNNING TIME: 114 MIN

RECEPTION SPONSORED BY EMPANADAS CAFE

Thursday, October 23, 2008

eyesoarProductions.net getting ready to launch...Logo Mockup...BUSH, good riddance!



So I've had this website for a long time and I promised myself I wouldn't put up content until Bush gets out of office due to the feelings I have about the war...Right now there is a photo of a project I did in collaboration with Kyl Carrigol during college when the death toll was in the 700's...It was her concept and I took photos of her dressed in uniform lying dead at different sites around Boston. That was a hilarious yet saddening project.

Revised 3/18/09...Haven't launched yet...but soon...I scrapped the idea of putting together holiday packages and decided to just make stickers...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Hurricane Relief Benefit for Cuba...


I went to Cuba on a scholarship for 3 1/2 weeks in 2004 and felt so at home. Sandra Levinson runs the Cuban Art Space and she's throwing this...

Introducing my Other Year of the Rat Baby Love...Dominic...


Oh the joy of being a parent, getting to dress your kid in orange ears...Cruel, so cruel...

Friday, October 17, 2008

The latest ipod and bluetooth bike speakers....


For those ipod and tech gadget geeks, Cyfi put out a new speaker this week that got pretty good reviews even though it's a bit pricy at $199...and the bluetooth one (for use with computers, phones, etc...) is a separate model from the ipod which uses an input. That also means if you're listening to the radio through your ipod, you can't use it to listen to the radio or if you have iRemote...

Latest Juxtapoz Rifings...

David Hess did the art for this book called, "Please God Save Us"...

Mr. Brainwash and all the Marilyns?
Obama soda by Beck(y)?
Steven Ives is a reader submission...
Paul Insect put out a book called, "Poison.." I like the cover just 'cuz I'm so fond of circuitboards...


Animated by Syd Garon and Eric Henry, the video by Shawn Crahan is called "To My Surprise"...

Friday, October 10, 2008

What! I'm listening to...(Part 9)

So she's a knockoff version of Amy Winehouse, I still think Duffy's got something, though her production leaves something to be desired...Then there's the Ting Tings...They're fun...Secondhand Serenade is cheezy and has a lot of slow songs that appeal to me when it's raining out and I'm wistful. Not only is she a femme fatale, but man, she's got range...Leona Lewis has become a singer that I'm not ashamed to say I've been listening to lately. Dr. Nina Simone put out a tribute to Billie Holiday album. It's good. Traffic Entertainment/B Boy Records put out an album called the Masterworks. All the tracks from Sparky D are dope and if you like that old school hiphop sound, then this album is for you, especially for some hard-to-find tracks by Cold Crush Brothers, BDP, Money Earnin Crew, Soul Dimension and Positive Image. Still in the process of reviewing other stuff...In the meantime, going back to the Isley Brothers for some well-sampled slow jams...

Revised 10.24.08 Joan recommended Justin Townes Earle from the CMJ showcase....A really great recommend...Thanks, Joan...North of Division X recommends Little Brother...

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Ped-estrian...

Oldest 'Footprints' on Earth Found

LiveScience Staff From Yahoo.com

LiveScience.com Sun Oct 5, 10:25 AM ET

The oldest-known tracks of a creature apparently using legs have been discovered in rock dated to 570 million years ago in what was once a shallow sea in Nevada.

Scientists think land beasts evolved from ancient creatures that left the sea and evolved lungs and legs. If the new finding is real - the discoverer says will fuel skepticism - it pushes the advent of walking back 30 million years earlier than any previous solid finding.

The aquatic creature left its "footprints" as two parallel rows of small dots, each about 2 millimeters in diameter. Scientists said today that the animal must have stepped lightly onto the soft marine sediment, because its legs only pressed shallow pinpoints into that long-ago sea bed.

The tracks were made during what is called the Ediacaran period, which preceded the Cambrian period, the time when most major groups of animals first evolved. Scientists had once thought only microbes and simple multicellular animals that existed prior to the Cambrian, but that notion is changing, said Ohio State University Professor Loren Babcock.

"We keep talking about the possibility of more complex animals in the Ediacaran - soft corals, some arthropods, and flatworms - but the evidence has not been totally convincing," Babcock said. "But if you find evidence, like we did, of an animal with legs - an animal walking around - then that makes the possibility much more likely."

Soo-Yeun Ahn, a doctoral student at Ohio State, presented the discovery today at a meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Babcock was surveying rocks in the mountains near Goldfield, Nevada, with Hollingsworth in 2000 when he found the tracks.

"This was truly an accidental discovery," he said. "We came on an outcrop that looked like it crossed the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, so we stopped to take a look at it. We just sat down and started flipping rocks over. We were there less than an hour when I saw it."

Little can be gleaned about what sort of creature it was, but Babcock "reasonably certain - not 100 percent" that it was an arthropod, such as one resembling a centipede or millipede, or by a leg-bearing worm. It might have been about one as wide as a pencil and may have had multiple, spindly legs.

In 2002, other researchers reported a similar fossil trail from Canada that dated back to the middle of the Cambrian period, about 520 million years ago. Another set of tracks found in South China date back to 540 million years ago. At approximately 570 million years old, this new fossil not only provides the earliest suggestion of animals walking on legs, but it also shows that complex animals were alive on earth before the Cambrian.

"I expect that there will be a lot of skepticism," Babcock said about the discovery. "There should be. But I think it will cause some excitement. And it will probably cause some people to look harder at the rocks they already have. Sometimes it's just a matter of thinking differently about the same specimen."

The Archaeologist's Dillemma: Famous Sites and Famous Performers



Mexicans boo Mayan pyramids concert by Great Tenor

From Yahoo.com By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 3, 4:13 PM ET

MERIDA, Mexico - Placido Domingo's concert at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza on Saturday night is being billed as "the world's greatest tenor at one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World," a claim few lovers of opera or history would dispute.

But some Mexicans question whether the show should go on at all.

Archaeologists are pressing for criminal charges against the organizers, reviving a debate over how to use treasured ancient sites.

It's a balancing act many countries face as they try to promote and protect their cultural heritage. As artists seek to perform in stunning places from the Great Wall of China to India's Taj Majal and ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian structures, many worry not only about damage but also about cultural propriety.

Domingo sought to reassure his critics Thursday, saying "I know there has been some discomfort in Mexico because I was going to perform at this site, but we have taken care of every detail to carry out this event."

Mexico's federal government turns down almost all requests to hold concerts at ancient temples, but they are increasingly pressured by state governors to promote ruins already swamped with tourists.

Domingo's concert inside Chichen Itza violates a law that requires the ruins to be preserved to educate Mexicans about ancient cultures, said Cuauhtemoc Velasco, a leader of the archaeologists' union.

"These monuments are not there so that rich people can hold events at them" said Velasco, noting the tickets cost between $45 and $900 in a country with a minimum wage of about $4.50 per day.

For present-day Mayas like Amadeo Cool May, who hosts a Mayan-language radio program, the concert "is an event for foreigners who come here on vacation. It is something completely alien to the Mayas, because of the ticket prices and the type of music."

Jorge Esma, who is organizing the concert for the Yucatan state government, counters that non-ticket holders can watch it for free on local television, and says the Mayan temples will be well protected. The government has required light stage structures, forbidden anything from being anchored into ancient stones, and will have experts on hand to evaluate the impact on the 1,200-year-old temples.

But a researcher at the government archaeology institute filed a criminal complaint with federal prosecutors, seeking to punish the organizers for "degrading" Chichen Itza by using it as a "simple backdrop."

The concert is expected to draw 4,000 people, the number set by the government as a maximum after organizers asked for permission to hold a much larger event.

Esma said more than half a dozen concerts at Chichen Itza since Luciano Pavarotti sang here in 1997 prove such events can be held without damaging the temples. The site, voted one of seven modern wonders in a global 2007 poll, is visited by as many as 12,000 people a day, leading to concerns of overcrowding and wear and tear.

But Esma said "we haven't had a single complaint" about damage, and notes that other countries use their ancient sites for concerts. "There are questions to be asked about this globalized trend, but what we can't do is try to stop it."

Domingo, a Spanish tenor who began his career in Mexico, noted that "it is painful to see other sites, like Petra, Jordan, where the tourists climb up on the structures and rocks. The archaeological heritage has to be cared for, and preserved."

Some countries have learned to say no.

India's Supreme Court banned large-scale events at the Taj Majal after complaints that floodlights and sound vibrations from a 1996 concert by Greek musician Yanni damaged the palace. Summer opera was curtailed at Rome's Baths of Carcalla for the same reason. And Venetians have been less hospitable to rock concerts since litterers and vandals joined 200,000 Pink Floyd fans in St. Mark's Square.

Egypt imposed some limits on regular concerts at its famed Giza Pyramids in the years after the Grateful Dead played near the Sphinx in 1978. Verdi's Aida rang in the year 2000, Sting played the pyramids in 2001 and Shakira drew thousands of fans to the site last year. The concerts were held at least 500 yards (meters) from the pyramids to prevent damage.

Because of the tourism benefits, Egypt's government has overruled objections by the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, who says the ground shook and stones vibrated during the Sting and Dead concerts. He still blames the Dead concert in part for a chunk of the Sphinx's shoulder falling off ten years later.

Lebanon also hosts annual summer concerts at the ancient Roman ruins of Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley, political violence permitting, and performances by Sting and Lebanon's top diva Fairouz generated few complaints from archeologists there.

China recently opened its Great Wall for a fashion show by Fendi and a concert by Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper and Boyz II Men; and Domingo performed at the Forbidden City as one of the "Three Tenors" in 2001, amid only scattered complaints.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History is resisting the trend, turning down a dozen concert requests a year.

"We get calls from filmmakers who want to shoot movies at archaeological sites, and they always say 'We will make your site famous,'" spokesman Benito Taibo said. "We answer, 'Thanks, but it already is famous. Don't do us any favors.' "

Columbia Remnants Survived Astronaut...

Astronaut's diary goes on display in Jerusalem

From Yahoo.com By SHAWNA OHM, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 3, 6:45 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Pages from an Israeli astronaut's diary that survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37-mile fall to earth are going on display this weekend for the first time in Jerusalem.

The diary belonged to Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut and one of seven crew members killed when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entering the atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. Part of the restored diary will be displayed at the Israel Museum beginning Sunday.

A little over two months after the shuttle explosion, NASA searchers found 37 pages from Ramon's diary, wet and crumpled, in a field just outside the U.S. town of Palestine, Texas. The diary survived extreme heat in the explosion, extreme atmospheric cold, and then "was attacked by microorganisms and insects" in the field where it fell, said museum curator Yigal Zalmona.

"It's almost a miracle that it survived — it's incredible," Zalmona said. There is "no rational explanation" for how it was recovered when most of the shuttle was not, he said.

NASA officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. space agency returned the diary to Ramon's wife, Rona, who brought it to forensics experts at the Israel Museum and from the Israeli police. The diary took about a year to restore, Zalmona said, and it took police scientists about four more years to decipher the pages. About 80 percent of the text has been deciphered, and the rest remains unreadable, he said.

Two pages will be displayed. One contains notes written by Ramon, and the other is a copy of the Kiddush prayer, a blessing over wine that Jews recite on the Sabbath. Zalmona said Ramon copied the prayer into his diary so he could recite it on the space shuttle and have the blessing broadcast to Earth.

Most of the pages contain personal information which Ramon's wife did not wish to make public, he said.

"We agreed to do the restoration completely respecting the family's privacy and the sensitivity about how intimate the document is," museum director James Snyder said.

The diary provides no indication Ramon knew anything about potential problems on the shuttle. Columbia's wing was gashed by a chunk of fuel tank foam insulation at liftoff and broke up in flames just 16 minutes before it was scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All seven astronauts on board were killed.

The diary is being displayed as part of a larger exhibit of famous documents from Israel's history, held to mark the country's 60th anniversary this year. Also on display will be Israel's 1948 declaration of independence, the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan and a bloodstained sheet of paper with lyrics to a peace anthem that was carried by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the time of his assassination in 1995.

If you're wondering why I haven't blogged for more than a month...That makes 2 of us!

I have a good excuse. I got hit by a truck, I mean a huge semi that crushed my arm, gave me a bit of road rash and is now a bit dislocated due to the swelling...Otherwise, I am survived by my other body parts thankfully and broke nothing as incredible as that sounds. I definitely needed the vacation...

Revised 10.24.08
NicOne YNN also got hit by a truck...What's up with that? It's like we're on some evil truckers' hit list or something...Heh...Hope you have a quick recovery, Nic...

I wanted to give a bit of tribute to Rick Wright...

Richard Wright, Member of Pink Floyd, Dies at 65

Published: September 15, 2008

Richard Wright, the keyboardist whose somber, monumental sounds were at the core of Pink Floyd’s art-rock that has sold millions and millions of albums, died Monday in London, where he had lived. He was 65.

Associated Press

Pink Floyd’s original lineup, shown in 1967, included, from left, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright.

MJ Kim/Getty Images, 2005

Mr. Wright performing with Pink Floyd at Live 8 London.

The cause was cancer, said his publicist, Claire Singers.

Mr. Wright was a founding member of Pink Floyd, and his spacious, somber, enveloping keyboards, backing vocals and eerie effects were an essential part of its musical identity...Mr. Wright was born in London in 1943 and taught himself to play keyboards, developing an early interest in jazz. He attended a boys’ school founded by the haberdashers' guild, then studied architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic College.

With fellow students at Regent Street — Mr. Waters on guitar or bass and Nick Mason on drums — he started a group, at first playing American rhythm-and-blues songs. Mr. Barrett joined them in 1965, reshaping the music and naming the band The Pink Floyd Sound, after the American bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council...