intellectual properties

haute holidays

it’s pretty fun receiving email fliers for events and your face is on them this photo was taken for miranda caroligne a year ago. can you find me?

this event looks really great – check it out if you’re in SF.  SHOP LOCAL this holiday season.

what i am thankful for

re: the last post, although i contend that i find meaningful ways to celebrate and recognize the christmas holiday, because i’m generally against gifts and cutting down trees and decorating my house, many people think i’m a grinch.

i have also in the past fasted on Thanksgiving as a way of being thankful for food, and also as a protest against, again, over-consumption as well as colonialism and revisionist American history.  and while i recognize that those pilgrims were simply giving thanks for a bountiful harvest, i also sympathize with the Native Americans who see it as a celebration of genocide, and find the whole eat-unhealthy-food-until-you’re-sick-and-then-lay-around-watching-television tradition to be rather symbolic of all that is WRONG with America, not all that’s right. (but that’s what we’re doing today anyway! haha!)

and i realize that this attitude, these beliefs, seem either a) pretentious, b) self-righteous, or c) spiteful to some people, particularly people in my family, and i wish i could find a way to frame my point of view without seeming that way.  but I AM GRATEFUL. i am.  i have my own ways of celebrating the world, and recognizing the beauty and joys of life, and giving back, and giving thanks.  they just aren’t traditional, as the traditions don’t resonate with me.

this thanksgiving, I AM THANKFUL FOR:

my family, whom i miss more and more every day, including the ones who i argue online with , and the one thing i do really miss about celebrating the holidays is seeing my family

jay, who is my partner and the only person who understands me, most of the time, except when we’re fighting about stupid things.  but i am extremely grateful we only really fight about stupid things, and not the big things. <3

my good health, which i become more and more grateful for every day, as i have been increasingly experiencing the signs of aging and I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT but i am still grateful to have had 33+ years of above average good health (knockamilliontimesonwood)

my friends, near and far, who continue to inspire me and make me laugh and show me the world through their eyes, from Alaska to Moscow, Santiago to Berlin — a world without friends is no world at all.

my job and my coworkers, who are earnest and believe in making the world a better place

and finally, again despite my objections and criticisms and wishing-things-were-different, this holiday i realize how thankful and grateful i am for America, and to be an American.  despite all the problems here in the U.S.,  despite all the fighting and corruption, i am constantly reminded when reading the world news every day that i was blessed to be born here, with the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship, and not somewhere else, and that even though we have diverging viewpoints on how to achieve them, most americans have the same interests at heart, and there is solidarity in that.  this is also why i find it so difficult to remain quiet – to not say how i feel about politics or economics or democracy, why i can’t “let it slide” when someone makes a racist remark or a sexist slur or tries to justify keeping rights and privileges from one group while giving it to another – because passive democracy is not a democracy.  Passivism is not how America was born, and if it continues to be the cultural norm, how America will fail.  i know i get on my soapbox every now and again, but it is in defense of these things i am thankful for about America.  in an age of censorship, corporate media and misinformation, i am grateful that if we want it, we all have a voice.

and now, we are on our way north toward dinner.

on “black friday” (and then some)

yes, my friends, once again i am advocating a BUY NOTHING CHRISTMAS and intend to spend black friday somewhere along the northern california coast between the pacific ocean and a grove of redwoods, not a shopping mall or wal-mart for miles.

IMNSHO, if you really want to celebrate CHRISTmas…in these hard economic times, put giving to the poor at the top of your list. food banks first. i started my giving early this year and last week sent a check to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. find a food bank near you.

if not buying any gifts seems too hardline for you, and/or, although i don’t empathize, i can understand, you LIKE shopping for your friends and family, and you want to express your love and admiration for them with gifts, i suggest buying handmade, local items. use ebay or etsy.com. visit a craft fair. or hey! talk to the people in your town. i bet some of them make things. people are crafty. now, these might not be the “hot gifts” everyone (especially children) has been hypnotized by television to want this year, but i thought it was the thought that counted? or maybe you’re one who believes that the way out of this recession is through consumer spending, and running out at 4AM to Macy’s on Black Friday is part of your patriotic duty….that leads me to another thought:

people keep saying that our Democracy runs on the Dollar, and lots has been written and said recently about our politicans being bought. if that’s true, then you have POWER. think more about where you send your dollars. there’s a lot of frustration lately about companies outsourcing work and manufacturing overseas while Americans are losing jobs. there’s something you can do about that: stop buying things from overseas, and from the companies that outsource. that means you might not get that huge new plasma screen TV, or your kids might not get the hottest Made in China toys for Christmas this year. but wouldn’t you rather have a job? Wal-Mart and other huge retailers take middle-class jobs away by killing small businesses and selling imported goods, yet everyone keeps giving them their money, usually for things they don’t need. why? long ago i pledged to stop buying anything with that MADE IN CHINA label unless i really, really needed it. sometimes, it’s unavoidable. but most of them time, you don’t need it. and america doesn’t need it either. america is losing the 21st century. as this great recent NYT Op-Ed points out, “Never cede a century to a country that censors Google.”

so this Christmas, support America. please give to the poor, and as for gifts, either Buy Nothing or Buy Local. i support both.

“If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Matthew 19:21

…what He said.

in the wake

Those who don’t feel this Love
pulling them like a river,
those who don’t drink dawn
like a cup of spring water
or take in sunset like supper,
those who don’t want to change,

let them sleep.

This Love is beyond the study of theology,
that old trickery and hypocrisy.
If you want to improve your mind that way,

sleep on.

I’ve given up on my brain.
I’ve torn the cloth to shreds
and thrown it away.

If you’re not completely naked,
wrap your beautiful robe of words
around you,

and sleep.

–rumi

ARTumnal

Miss Velvet Cream Designs (Scatha), originally uploaded by Kyle H Hailey.

Tamara, Antje & I in Miss Velvet Cream designs @ the Black Rock Arts Foundation annual benefit fundraiser, 11.20.09

taking a knife to boxes

The greatest crimes in the world are committed not by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It’s people who follow orders who drop bombs and massacre villages.

As a precaution to ever committing major acts of evil it is our solemn duty never to do what we’re told; this is the only way we can be sure. –Banksy

TEDxSoMa

Submitted to TEDxSoMa

Please tell us why you would like to attend TEDxSoMa?

I’ve been working in the environmental public policy field for 10 years and moonlighting as a writer and performance artist. Both of these vocations suffer from the entrapments of “getting funded”, and ideas are never allowed to exist as JUST ideas. Big Thoughts! Discussions of What Could Be! are often viewed as overly idealist and forced to be tempered before hitting the pavement. I’ve been a fan of TED for a few years and have a huge amount of appreciation for the intention ingrained in the format – celebration of outside the box, big picture thinking (and just pure raw talent) on the arts and sciences that isn’t tied to funding or legislation.

Tell us in a few words your thoughts on the importance of interactivity in making the world a better place.

Like the important role Television played during the Vietnam War in exposing the general public to what was happening on the other side of the globe, and thus inciting the protests and public outcry, in this age of corporate media, social networking and the internet are now integral in keeping unbiased information accessible to the public. Without information, we have no power. Interactive exchange of information is key in getting people involved, excited, and empowered to make the world a better place.

[I DIDN'T GET IN]

SF: it draws you out

“Everyone always says, “There’s SOMEthing about San Francisco.” And then they proceed to try to nail it down by making lists of the things that make this city what it is… But you can’t do that and actually capture that something. Maybe because it’s different for everyone. Maybe it’s not actually something and people just need to justify why they live in a loud, crowded, dirty city with a bunch of loud, crazy people.“

–my friend calli, who is featured today in “i live here: SF“, a photoblog project that photographs and interviews people about how and why they live in SF, which i’ve been enjoying for quite some time.

i often feel this way about both NY and SF. how do we justify this rent, this noise, this pollution, this crime? our cost-benefit analysis can only be understood by others who live here. and it seems to be totally different for everyone, but always coming out on the benefit side. see also: i live here: mat.

and then this:

I dance and perform. Something I would have never had the courage to do if it weren’t for the people in this city who drew it out of me.

this, above and beyond the amazingly beautiful scenery and mild weather and endless varieties of food and art, is why i also love SF. because i find myself doing and being things here i don’t think i could anywhere else – and it’s not just that you “can” – the radical acceptance and “anything goes as long as you aren’t hurting anyone” culture of the bay area allows for great freedom of expression. but it’s more than that.  if there’s an artist, a freak, a maker, an activist, a chef, a writer, a climber, a builder in you, anywhere, inside, you almost have no choice.  this city draws it out of you.

darkness and intuition

the other day i left west berkeley later than usual, as i had been having happyhourfuntimes with jason and neva after work, and i got on my bike and just took the usual route back toward home, not really thinking about it.  but as soon as i got into aquatic park, i realized it was WAY DARKER than i expected it to be, as the park runs between the freeway and lit streets (map) i expected there to be some ambient light, but i guess there are enough trees that there wasn’t, and the flimsy little headlight on my bike was doing almost nothing to light the path. but my eyes adjusted and i ride the path 2 times a day so i know where it goes and was pretty fine with riding in the dark.

until i started thinking about where i was. aquatic park is known as a casual sex hookup spot for gay men, and honestly, even though it creeps me out to see guys emerging from the bushes or awkwardly sitting in their cars at 9am, i have nothing against anonymous sex between consenting adults, and i never feel threatened by the presence of this activity in the daytime; mostly i feel sad for those men.  but at night, i think the vibe gets a little different, and there’s a lot more drug activity and straight-up prostitution. and as i was thinking about this, i rounded a corner and there next to the path were the silhouettes of 3 large men, and for a brief second i was terrified as i imagined them tackling me, and later thought about the scary vibe they emitted (as opposed to the usual joggers/frisbee golfers/joggers/dog walkers i intercept in the daytime).  but i just rode past, and soon afterward i was back on a regular street, telling myself never to ride through aquatic park again at night, despite the fact that it’s the fastest and easiest route home, and in the daylight, the safest because there is no car traffic.

then this morning when i approached the south entrance to the park, there were several cop cars and news vans (photo) and a big stretch of yellow POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS tape across the entrance and i had to turn around and loop back to take the regular streets. i was almost afraid to look it up on the news, but there it is:  Slain Woman Found in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park.

assuming that the woman found was homeless or a prostitute (meaning, not someone who was randomly walking through and attacked) does not give me much comfort, and i’ll be riding a different route home until it’s light again.

i’m not sure what to more to suggest to the City about this known issue than has already been discussed for years (and now again in the comments on that news item). the park is technically “closed” at night, and so anyone entering there after dark is doing so “at their own risk”, and the city has historically looked the other way re: the sex exchanges. but perhaps installing night lighting along the paths would be a start? then at least those who do end up going through there aren’t completely left in the dark.

us and them