Stunning New Hera Vid

I'm kinda speechless. Hera made this video just for her Jux blog and sent it my way this morning. Incredible for many reasons. She inspires me immensely.

Health care for the entire universe!?

Everyone these days is talking about health care. Those who have it, those who don't, and especially those who want it. There seems to be a lot of jargon surrounding this proposed universal heath care plan (what? we're supposed to be supporting health care for the entire universe!?!) and while I'm all for heath care overhaul, there is one article I found particularly timely on NPR (of course) called "Drug Firms Pour $40 Million Into Health Care Debate."

Basically, in the past 3 months alone, PhRMA has spent an average of $3 million a week lobbying congress on the new heath care bill:

"PhRMA alone has 29 people lobbying for it. [...] You'll find that PhRMA also hired 45 different Washington, D.C., lobbying firms to represent it in those three months of the second quarter.

"Most of the drug companies that belong to PhRMA are running their own lobby shops as well, plus the biggest ones have also hired dozens of D.C. lobbying firms.

"So think about it this way: There are far more people in Washington representing one party of the debate — the big drug companies — than there are members of Congress working on the health care bill."

And we wonder why it takes so long to get any drastic change accomplished around here.

Big new painting!

A while back, I wrote a bio for artist Jenn Porreca's website. True to her massively generous nature, she insisted I come over and pick out a piece of artwork as a thank you. If you're not yet familiar with Jenn's work, you should be because she's totally self-taught, really talented, and super nice and smart. That must be why we get a long so well ;-)

Last night I stopped by her place (she just got married too, so she was in somewhat of a post wedding bliss/daze) to chat and check out the new work. Her latest paintings are by far her strongest (she's really mastering light). But I fell in love with the biggest canvas there, an old piece from years ago that apparently had been sitting in storage for a period of time.

I love it for a few reasons:
First off, it's really abstract and although unlike her new work, to me it shows the artistic depth of the process of creation, as you can see layer after layer of paint. The texture is amazing and I found myself literally petting the canvas to feel all the organic depth the piece has to offer.
Secondly, the colors are great. The warm reddish, which Jenn uses quite a bit, is inviting but the central cool aqua pops and provides a notable contrast.
Third, in the center of the canvas it's written in small cursive lettering, "Screw Monday, lets run away." Uhh, rad! That's pretty much what I say to myself every morning and night, regardless if it's Monday or not. It reminded me of my constant lamenting to Chris about wanting to "just run away." (so cliche, but I want to sometimes!)
Lastly, the canvas is friggin huge. And big things are always better, right?

Well, maybe until it won't fit in your car, it's drizzling outside (cus y'know, it's summer in SF) and you have to borrow surf straps to tie the thing onto the roof of your car. I love it that Jenn let me tie her massive canvas to my car and drive home in the drizzle! Anyways, it made it home safe and sound and now I really never want to leave my bedroom (even more than before). It reminds me of a studio space now, and that is simply peachy.

I Heart Mac

I have been a big fan of Mac's artwork for a while now. He's on our subscriber cover this month and so that has allowed us a bit more contact than our already very regular contact has allowed in the past. Not only is Mac super duper talented but he is a totally rad guy and extremely mindful of himself, his artwork, and everyone around him. I wish more artists were this considerate and easy to work with!

In his feature interview with David Choe, Mac states, "I think the more good public art a city has, especially in the poorer areas, can help emphasize that there's more to life than just getting by." I couldn't agree more. Fuck just getting by. Suck the life outta the world every damn day.

Rapper Feuds Mirror World Politics?

This may be one of the most astute comparisons I have read in a while: rapper feuds mimicking world politics.

"The way that rappers compete with each other — this is soft power," says Marc Lynch, author of a recent article for Foreign Policy.com comparing world politics to rap feuds. "This is the way you try and make a reputation, try and get what you want, and you have to do it through this very intricate series of alliances."

Man, I'd love to sit down and chat with this guy. On his political and rap game? Get this guy in the White House.

The whole story from NPR is here.

Raise your hand...

If you really have no idea what you're doing with your life (except to be happy and make others happy and all that peachyness).

Wicked Joy Division Cover

I have heard quite a few Joy Division covers, but this drumline cover in Manchester gets the blue ribbon from me.

Love them weekends

Weekends. They're what I live for.

This never gets old

For some reason, in the past 2 days this oldie but a goodie has gotten a mini revival in my life. Perhaps it's because I just realized Sally has a tattoo of the "amateur sketch" of the leprechaun on her upper thigh. Hilarious.
You know you're addicted to YouTube when you have homages to its most popular videos permanently tatted on you.
But on some realness, I wanna know where the gold at!

Woodstock looked fun.

"Do your own thing, wherever you have to do it and whenever you want. Drop out. Leave society as you have known it. Leave it utterly. Blow the mind of every straight person you can reach. Turn them on, if not to drugs, then to beauty, love, honesty, fun." -Time Magazine, July 1967

Contemplating Dash

I'm disturbed, intrigued, terrified, and enamored. Something about Dash Snow struck a chord within me the very first time I was introduced to his artistry. Which, although I look at art all day every day, does not happen often.

It was his Nest book with Dan Colen and it stung. I’m not even sure exactly why, but Dash Snow embodies everything I was fascinated and scared of - all at the same time. His name alone kinda explains it all: a Dash of insanity, a flash of the extreme. And his death has not settled well with me, even though I never even met the crazy guy.

I think the article Chasing Dash Snow by Ariel Levy, published at the start of 2007 sums up something true: “’As a case study, here’s a creature who’s just reacting. I think that for the last five years or so, there is a larger desire for the personal: something that has the hand of a person in it. It’s not I’m going to do this so people will think I’m crazy. I am crazy! I think he’s genuinely and completely self-destructive.’” Which is, of course, what the art world has always wanted, especially in New York City, what Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning supplied, along with genius. That magic flash of insanity, framed and for sale.”

"Still, hating them has more advantages than respecting them. Because if you were to get caught up in the insanity and the creativity and the ridiculousness of their world, it could mean certain things. It could mean, for example, that it isn’t just that you were born at the wrong time. That maybe this city has still got it going on, antiseptic as it can seem. That the wild life is still out there for the taking, and the only difference between them and you is that they’re taking it and making something out of it."

He lived so fast and so ridiculously, yet I find myself utterly fascinated by this human. A human who, apparently, did not even have much respect for other human life- especially his own. And perhaps that is the heart of the matter: how can such a privileged kid from the crème de la crème of the NYC art scene give it all up? No, not even give it all up, but totally reject it and then turn around and become a famous artist himself. What was it? What did he see? How did he think? Did any of it make any sense in his head?

I’ll never know, but I do know that I have not been this affected by a stranger’s death in a long time. And for that, I have no explanation, I just know when I bristle. And this has kept me bristling since the news of Dash’s overdose yesterday afternoon.

More info here.

I reaaally hope this is real...

cus I would have loved to be the ad guy who sold Emily the billboard space.
"Sure, so you want that in Helvetica? or was that Verdana?"

It's Raaaaandy Time

Raaaaaaaandy - Part 1 (Funny People) from Aziz Ansari

Funny-as-shit Raaandy skit by Aziz Ansari. Yes, everyone has seen it but that's because it's really that funny. Gotta love Indian comics.

Nuevo Casa

Folks keep asking about my new place, so here's a visual tour.
I absolutely adore it and pretty much never want to leave, which is definitely an issue when going to work in the morning. Come over, hang out, and check it out in person! Our street has pretty trees on it.


Living room with our lovely bay window.


Turn around, and there's the kitchen!


Bedroom action.


Walk-in closets are nice.


Especially when they lead to the backyard.


So cozy.

David Flores makes pretty stuff

I haven't really been able to talk about much recently, as I've been swamped at work redesigning our website. However, David Flores makes some dope art and his latest really blew me away.

Moving Is Tough...but orange booty shorts always help

Moving can be tough. Especially when your bed is too large for the big-ass work van you borrowed.



What do you do? Tape the doors shut and decide to ride with the bed in the back! But we need a flag to make it legal...



So of course we used the only appropriate 'flag' around: my Thrasher orange booty shorts.



yay! Problem solved.
Too bad we had to take apart the entire bed upon arriving at the new place anyways, because the door was too narrow. shit.