intellectual properties

the last laugh

recently on This American Life (which is just one of the best things ever, and in addition to the radio broadcast, i highly also recommend the televised/video portions, which you can get via Netflix etc.), they had an episode in which they were searching for funny funeral stories, and apparently this was a hard thing to find.

so i just want to put it in writing that when i die, i want there to be humor at my funeral. it’s ok if you cry too, but there better be some laughter. song and dance/skits/standup comendy/whatever. i’m imagining more of a posthumorous posthumous roast centered around poking fun at yet celebrating me, my life, and the things and people that i love than a funeral.

that is all.

postmillennial hope

“I give thanks to America, a country insane enough to declare the pursuit of happiness to be an inalienable right.”

i’m reading Susan Sontag’s most excellent book In America: A Novel, about a group of well-to-do Polish people who give up everything – for some of them including fame and wealth – to become farmers/settlers in Southern California around 1876. why would these people, who had everything, give it all up to work as field hands? the book is amazing at expounding on the thoughts/ motivations of the such early immigrants – The Dream of America was *so big* that even those who had everything in their homelands were willing to give it all up for a shot at The Dream. how many of those dreams came true?

relatedly, yesterday i shared on gReader and facebook this piece from Adbusters written by Michael Larson, a philosophy teacher from Pittsburgh:

Postmillennial Tension: Can we be the ones we’ve been waiting for?

some excerpts:

That dominant ideal of modernity is tied to a notion of ever-expanding progress and limitless consumption. The oil crisis of 1973 signaled the onset of the postmodern malaise. “Our future was all of a sudden mortgaged,” writes Bourriaud in Altermodern. So while capital has continued expanding its reach in other areas, there has been a lingering denial – an inability to mourn the lost object and the dream’s impossibility. If this was the death of the dream, then our present reality of global warming, water and food shortages, market collapse and the continued proliferation of violent factionalism make it clear that we had better get on with mourning and confront the sorrow we have been trying to repress. Putting it off has only allowed the problems to grow.

We have had a century of continuity in which the basic operating assumptions of the economic system have been hegemonic. In fact this version of “modernity” was to have closed the book on history: We have reached the best of all possible worlds; there are no alternatives. Proclaiming the end of history intimates that our desires have been satiated and that there is nothing further to strive for.

i don’t read adbusters too much anymore because i think a lot of it IS too hopeless/ armageddonist/depressing, but i still subscribe to the online feed and what caught my eye about this one is that there has been something in my mind for a really long time now with respect to my particular demographic – educated middle class americans with plenty of food, clothing, shelter – that goes something like “WE HAVE EVERYTHING.  WHY AREN’T WE HAPPY?”, which seems simple, but it is all heavy with a million questions about both of the words “everything” and “happy”, and extends way beyond myself and my community to America as a whole, and our self-image of always “the best. america is the best. the best of everything is here. it is yours to take if you work hard enough”.

but it turns out that maybe, just maybe, that isn’t true, that the American Dream was a fallacy, or, even worse: what if the “everything” isn’t enough when you get it? what if, when you get to the top run of the ladder – the house, the yard, the boat, the kids, the degrees, the “everything” – what if then that isn’t enough? it must be really depressing to get to the top and realize it’s not far enough.

my speculation is that, like the early Europeans who came from perfectly good lives with solid communities to risk everything on the American frontier, there is a part of human nature that is utterly insatiable, no matter what you give it, and that the “everything” we want isn’t as physical as we’ve been lead to believe – via consumerism, marketing – the “everything” is something intangible, and possibly unattainable. it’s what drives us as humans to do what we do. if it were attainable, how would we evolve?

my generation (X), and the next (Y) seems to be the first in a few to really FEEL this. we were taught, growing up in the 80s especially, that once certain things were attained, peace and happiness would follow. but all after our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents hard work, building industries and fighting for civil rights and freedom, those of us in the educated middle-class who have access to all the things our forefathers dreamed about, here we are, standing on the top rung of the ladder, and we’re still not happy, and the world – and the rest of the world – it’s even more of a mess than before.

that is why the one sentence that hit me most in this piece was “Jean-Paul Sartre described anguish as the recognition of responsibility and the ensuing need to act without guarantee, without hope.“  as Americans, we have a lot of responsibility in this world, as we consume most of the resources and control a lot of the politics. but what hope can we feel now about it all, when it seems we inherited a wealth of square pegs but none of them fit in what turned out to be round holes?

so then finally, the author asks:

So we find ourselves in this moment of rupture, precariously exposed to risk and perhaps devoid of hope. Can we think of these facts as possibilities? Can we confront our situation and imagine what things might be like otherwise, even without guarantees? The end of history has reached its end. Can we be the ones we have been waiting for?

i also felt a lot of this, but wasn’t able to express it, during Obama’s HOPE campaign, like all of Democratic and minority America felt like everything had been done – all the groundwork was laid out, and now everyone was pinning their future on one man/one moment that was going to seal the deal. HOPE is what Obama tried to sell us, and for the election season, we bought it. but here we are 1+ years later, and people are getting depressed because the whole world didn’t change when Obama took office.

so what about now? we have to stop waiting for the thing that is going to save us. we have to stop standing on the top rung of the ladder, thinking there is no where else to go. we have the tools to build a new future. we are what we have been waiting for.

a key case for abortion

in december, an old high school friend of mine sent an email about health insurance coverage of abortions to my high school alumni email list, asking all of us to take action opposing it.

i responded to him that i would not sign his petition, and that if he wanted to hear why, i’d be willing to discuss it. he responded that he was open to hearing all sides, and i was welcome to present my perspective.

i looked around the web for the best case study i could find to fully illustrate why i think it’s important to have abortion at least be an OPTION for health insurance providers and patients.  but i couldn’t find anything that really hit home, was too emotional about it to respond personally, and couldn’t engage, and so i never responded.  until today, when i read this story.  it’s brash, yes, and not a “medical case study”. but it’s 100% honest story that presents a side that isn’t often heard: for some women, pregnancy is physical hell, and sometimes, it is the best choice for you and your family.

i sent him this story. whatever “side” you are on, please read the whole thing below, but really, besides the medical specifics of her case being a perfect example of why it should be a MEDICAL OPTION, this is the most important point:

“…abortion is an acceptable choice. It is not shameful and
it need not be a secret.

More than 45,000,000 legal abortions have occurred since Roe v. Wade
for tens of millions of women, but you almost never seem to hear their
stories (unless they’re now a pro-lifer with a huge guilt concept).

Why don’t we talk about this more? Well, because we’ve been taught not to. By the women (and men involved) before us who didn’t talk about their abortions, by the religious right who told us we were whores for wanting to enjoy sex without the punishment of pregnancy and childbirth, and by the left who hung their heads in sorrow that people “had to” get abortions.”

full story below:

Continue reading »

you are what you think

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

–unknown

the ugly truth

in response to THIS:

But the more I write on the internet, the more I keep bumping up against people who don’t want to wonder and move. They want to stand still in the simplicity of knowing it all.

The truth is a mess of lies and broken bones. First it’s this. Then it’s that. And then it’s gone. Is that bleak and negative and hopeless and ugly? What’s the alternative? If I bring up Haiti (or Auschwitz), it’s not like I’m TRYING to be hopeless and ugly. It just fucking is hopeless and ugly. That’s what it is, man, when people fly planes into buildings and the earth swallows 200,000 people. No one gets out alive. That makes ME a bummer?

If you think I’m a bummer, then I feel misunderstood.

i was just discussing this concept today WRT suburbia, and some of the people who decide to live there, and how different their worldviews must be than mine. not everyone, but some of them, trying to escape all the inequities of the world and live in a clean little bubble, and how i either ride my bike or the bus or the car through the ghetto at least 2x a day, and almost every time i see something that makes my heart break.  why am i choosing this instead of what they have chosen? sometimes i think it’s because it helps me to see the truth of this world, a point of view i cannot live without;  it keeps me grounded, and compassionate.  keeping yourself protected only breeds isolationist tendencies.

that whole Keats “beauty is truth, truth beauty” thing – i call bullshit.  sometimes there is nothing beautiful about it, despite the poetic temptation of believing everything that has truth in it is beautiful.  i agree there is so much beauty in the world that sometimes it is enough to make you want to cry;  that doesn’t exclude the opposite from also being true.  i think about this a lot, really – how to be positive in a world full of negative, without putting blinders on. and i also hate that some people think i’m a downer because these are the things that fill my brain – these things i didn’t create, and sometimes i need to talk about them, hoping that words will help.

miss velvet cream/metamorphica in NOVO Mag

photos from a Metamorphica figure drawing workshop i did almost a year ago with miss velvet cream as the stylist just turned up in print in NOVO magazine’s current fashion issue:

(that’s me on the right)

the next Metamorphica is on Feb 26th with BadUnklSista as the stylist, which never disappoints.  if you or someone you know enjoys figure drawing, check it out.

2001-2010: how far have i come?

today is my 9 year blogiversary. first actual post here.

a blogger-friend of mine recently wrote that while she doesn’t expect people to reach the standard linear milestones (college–>job–>marriage–>grad school–>children–>mortgage, etc), she does expect people to continually improve themselves, and that what you are doing at 35 should be a progression from what you were doing at 25, or even 30.  or, if maybe not totally progressive or linear career-wise, at least life-wise, the key being change, learning and growth.

i agree that the arbitrary benchmarks are foolish, but keeping track of things that can be put on your resume aren’t necessarily super important to everyone either. my quality of life is way higher, even if it’s the same life and there aren’t a lot of measurable differences. shouldn’t i be happy about that?

Continue reading »

lov3sick3: the modern primatives

photo: del geronimo

clothing: gelareh design

event: lovesick III produced by alexandria von bromssen

video: Fashion Feud SF, Jan 2010

a short little youtube video from last months’ Fashion Feud in SF, at which i was a guest judge:

one of my few speaking-on-stage-in-public-moments in life, captured there on video. great event – good job everyone! congratulations again to the winner, GB Shrive Designs, and thx SF Fashion and Merchants Alliance!

get your love on: “LovingYou” and “LoveSick3″ this weekend in SF

wo hand-crafted, heartfelt and artfelt events this valentine’s weekend in SF that i will be at and if you’re looking to ignore the traditional Vday hoopla and get out – coupled or alone – for some beauty, art and love, you should too:

SATURDAY 2/13

Missing Piece Presents:

LOVING YOU: a gallery art party

LOVING YOU is a gallery art party featuring love-inspired artists, designers, and performers celebrating that crazy thing called love.

While it is true that our photo booth has been known to cause makeout sessions with attractive strangers, that’s not the only reason you should come to LOVING YOU. We also have the best last-minute valentine’s shopping for you or your boo, including locally made gifts like lingerie, jewelry, hats, belt buckles, stuffed animals, mini flower vases, and even white lace MC hammer pants!

Come for the original artwork valentine you will get at the door, stay for the super cute performers, drink ’till your bold, get your tarot cards read and hey, while your at it, get your hair done! Then go home happy at midnight with someone on your arm and VOILA! it’s a wonderful start to your Valentine’s Day.

LOVING YOU features love-inspired artists and designers:

BeesandBears http://www.beesandbears.com
Breality Designs http://www.brealityrox.com
Danielle Deroberts http://www.onerary.com
Heather G. Arcega http://www.gingerbreadclothing.com
Ivana Ristic http://www.missingpieceproductions.com/ivana
Jeremy S. Eaton http://www.germsspread.com
Kristen Holden http://www.missingpieceproductions.com/holden
Liz Mamorsky http://www.lizland.com
MonTree http://www.montreedesigns.com
Native Intelligence http://www.rockitscienceSF.com
O’Lover Hats http://www.oloverhats.com
Roland Blandy http://www.rolandblandy.co.uk
Ron Goldin http://moonlid.com
Sea Pony
Sid Gabriel
Sugarpuss http://www.sugarpussclothing.com
Tamo Design http://www.tamodesign.com
Tidal Ware http://www.tidalwarejewelry.com
WilloToons http://www.willotoons.com

PLUS:
Glamarama Instant Makeovers http://www.glamarama.com
Magnolia Photo Booth http://www.magbooth.com
Mary Kay’s Tarot Readings http://www.marykaymitchell.com
Mobile Libations Bar http://www.mobilelibations.com
Ploom Tasting Lounge http://www.ploom.com

Special Guest Performance by Ricochet http://www.ricochet.name

MUSIC PROVIDED BY:
8-9pm Michael Musika http://www.myspace.com/michaelmusika
“Valentines Day is love linked to commerce and some sort of catholic innuendo. I sing lots of songs about whores and ghosts.”

9-10pm Model Student http://www.modelstudent.us/
Performing an all-acoustic set of “Songs of Love & Lust”, a repertoire of songs spanning several continents and languages.

10-11pm DJ Benchun http://benchun.net
“When you’re the dj you have one job. Your job is to make everyone go home and f*ck.”

$7 admission .::. 8-11pm

@ Glamarama, Van Ness Avenue, 417 S Van Ness @ 15th, SF

<3.:.:.::.:.::.:.:::.::…:::..:::…:::…::::…:::::…::::….:::::…::::::<3

SUNDAY, 2/14

The third annual LoveSick fashion show

(you should click there and watch the video…)

If you can’t cure the sickness, treat the symptoms this February 14th at Mighty.  You won’t find a cure for your broken heart, however, if you drag yourself over to 119 Utah Street at 7p.m. you will find a plethora of palliative pleasantries.

LoveSick 3 will have a live musical performance by The Goldenhearts, DJs Irene Hernandez & Martin Collins, special performance by Bad Unkl Sista, trunk show, art exhibition, kissing/photobooth, and a raffle – all supporting the main event:

A smoldering fashion show of the latest in lingerie and fashion from amazing SF designers such as Alexandria von Bromssen, Miss Velvet Cream, My Dirty Dishes, Medium Reality, Richard Hallmarq, Miranda Caroligne, Kayo, Invisible Hero,  Ghetto Goldilocks, Tamo Design, Gelareh Designs, Jasmin Zorlu & more. There will be a special performance by Bad Unkl Sista & Collaboration Project with Alexandria von Bromssen.

come get your love on.