intellectual properties

red strings and rabbit holes

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!“

- Alice, in Wonderland

i love synchronicity, even if oblique.

as posted, BadUnklSista, the butoh performance group i often dance with, is doing a 2-night production in SF this weekend @http://counterpulse.org/ , a double-bill with The Carepetbag Brigade, an unlikely composition of amazing performance artists who are currently doing an extremely mad take on Jack and the Beanstalk. while some of BUS performances are loose, organic pieces that we rehearse very little for, this one was choreographed, and because i was back east visiting my family last weekend, i wasn’t able to attend the rehearsals and therefore wasn’t able to participate as a performer. we went as audience members last night instead. jay asked afterward why i so like abstract performance art - what do i get out of it/what do i love about it? (a side topic being that i don’t think people can choose what kind of art (including music) moves them. you can try to make yourself like an art form, but really i think you either do or you don’t, n’est-ce pas?)  i can’t explain how much it moves me, every time, but i’ll try.

do you have those dreams, where nothing makes sense, you’re not even sure who/what/where, but you wake up with a feeling as though you witnessed something so deep it meant everything? i have them often, and the Carepetbag Brigade’s “You Don’t Know Jack” performance was as such, with people doing odd things with unexpected objects, saying things that on the surface sound like mad gibberish but when digested, when it all hits you as one piece, as a whole, seems so universal that it means everything.  the poetic dialogue and songs were interwoven in odd but meaningful ways, the words carefully chosen, the physicality rich and directive, and at the end i felt as if awaking from one of those dreams. i couldn’t quite grasp what had happened, but i felt changed by it.

and then, Bad Unkl Sista’s performance, which i won’t even attempt with the details. most prominently, I am completely in love with Totter Todd’s music right now (the dark place inside that you act from but never look at/swallow your fear, swallow it whole/you’re killing yourself with your own beauty).  BUS performances are always an honest and intense look at that which we are, the pieces of ourselves which we hide, which we let eat us from the inside, and the joy at relieving ourselves from such self-inflicted prisons.  there’s a certain part of myself that i am really not liking these days (in short: judgmental, and vocally), which is often exacerbated by visiting my family, and the performance last night brought a lot of that to the surface.  i am thinking i need a long strand of red string to tie around my wrist as a reminder of a few things i need to work on for a while (in the performance, such a string was used as a representation of your fear(s), which it is suggested in both song and action that you ingest, digest, and then regurgitate into something that tastes like relief).

thank you Bad Unkl Sista for always bringing such beauty, whether i am inside it or watching from afar. there’s another performance tonight @counterpulse in SF, which i’m sure will be similar but different. if you like intensity and songs and dances and abstract dreams that seem to say almost nothing directly but mean everything, i highly encourage you to attend tonight.

what does this have to do with rabbit holes and synchronicity?  the new Alice in Wonderland opened in SF this weekend, and we have a large crew (30+) who will be going to see it tonight, many of us in costume. and while the Disney version is just fine, those who have read the original texts know that Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass are much more than childrens’ stories, and are quite philosophically intricate and more than a little bit metaphysical.  it’s obvious why the psychedelic community latched onto its metaphors.

so with all the anticipation for the new film and mind wandering in that direction for this past week, particularly visiting my mother, who has an enormous collection of Alice in Wonderland memorabilia in her dining room/living room cabinets (indeed: dolls and figurines and books and all sorts of collectors items), walking out of the performance last night felt like the start of a weekend-long visit down the rabbit hole. then after another night of intense, crazy dreams, waking up this morning, it’s true: i’m really not sure i am the same person i was when i went to sleep last night, and if not, who that means i am today.

bad unkl sista: the study of soft: march 5&6 2010

hopefully i’ll be performing with BadUnklSista both of these nights next weekend - it should be intense, and beautiful.  come check it out, esp. if you’ve never seen BUS.

The Carpetbag Brigade and Bad Unkl Sista present two kaleidoscopic double-bill evenings of fun, disturbing physical theater and Butoh.

In “The Study of Soft”, featuring live music by Totter Todd (of Heavyweight Dub Champion), Pym (iampym.com) and F’kir Elderfae (Bad Unkl Sista), Bad Unkl Sista fuses multi-genre dance forms, live and original produced music, art installation, video and couture costuming into a continually evolving Butoh-based performance experience. For 2010 Bad Unkl Sista has begun a year long study of soft, and brings a different show to CounterPULSE each night.

The Carpetbag Brigade’s “You don’t know Jack” returns to CounterPULSE taking a Jungian twist on “Jack and the Beanstalk” with a dash of PTSD to create a surreal, comic tragedy of an alcoholic dead man and the shadow of his wildly dysfunctional family. Inspired by Robert Bly’s “The Sibling Society”, this funny, nightmarish fairy tale is a potent brew of physical theater, dance and a live musical score created by the ensemble cast.

tickets are $15-25 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/100860

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.

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.

here’s something you don’t see very often.

original uploaded by Owen Geronimo

me, on stage, with a microphone. i held it together though, i think.

i was judging the creations of some of SF’s finest at @ FASHION FEUD Finals, San Francisco, Jan. 26, 2010. more on that later.

TONIGHT: Fashion Feud @ Mighty SF: Free!

I’m judging this event @ Mighty tonight, the finale of a series of events that have been going on for a while now.  it’s like a “Project Runway” sort of thing, where each designer has an hour to make something live on stage.  during that hour+, the audience shops the vendors and has cocktails, and then votes by applause at the end.

come check it out if you’re into such things, and/or find yourself needing a cocktail around 119 Utah at about 7-8:00.

FASHION FEUD San Francisco, FINAL COMPETITION on Jan. 26, 2010.

Sponsored by SCION in collaboration with SAN FRANCISCO FASHION AND MERCHANTS ALLIANCE, INC. http://www.sffama.com/

FASHION FEUD is a live “Project Runway” like competition on stage. Designers are given an hour to create a design to prepare for a runway on stage. The audience will choose who the best designer of the evening by their resounding applause. Fabrics will be provided from”Mood Fabrics New York”. This event is sponsored by “SCION”. Final Feud is on January 26th, 2010.

The audience with the help of the judges (in case of a tie) will decide who the best designer of this competition with their resounding applause. Fabrics will be provided from”Mood Fabrics New York”. This FREE event is sponsored by “SCION”. Invite your friends.

FREE EVENT. NO COVER. CASH BAR. 21+ OVER.

Venue Location:
MIGHTY, 119 Utah Street, San Francisco, CA
http://www.mighty119.com/

MORE DETAILS AT EVENT’S WEBSITE: http://www.fashionfeud.net/

Featuring Local Designers:
- JULIA MEEKS - http://julia-meeks.blogspot.com/
- GAIL B. SHRIVE - http://www.gbshrivedesigns.com/
- ALEXANDRIA VON BROMSSEN - http://www.vonbromssen.com/Home.html

Models:
- ASHTON ROUNDS (for Julia Meeks)
- JEN LAZORACK (for Gail B. Shrive)
- KARA KRAUSS (for Alexandria Von Bromssen)

Judges:
AMY LEBLANC - http://www.amyleblanc.com/
BACCA DA SILVA - http://www.baccadasilva.com/
OLIVIA ONGPIN - http://www.fabric8.com/

Make-Up and Hair By: San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology
- http://www.sfiec.edu/

With Your Favorite Local Indie VENDORS:

Live Heartfelt http://liveheartfelt.com/
Colors By Liza http://colorsbyliza.com/
Edible Love Chocolates http://www.ediblelove.com/
Rachel Lloyd www.papergirl.vpweb.com
Gypsy and Lord http://www.gypsiesandlords.com/
Left Bank Shop http://leftbankshop.com/
Elle Bang http://www.ellebang.com/thucelle.html
Intwined http://intwined.etsy.com/
KT Mo Designs http://kathleenmcmahon.com/
Weberglass http://www.weberglass.com/
J Dash http://www.dashetc.com
Thu Pham http://www.thucelle.com

…AND MORE!
INVITE YOUR FRIENDS:
FACEBOOK INVITE: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215367591902
PRINT FREE TICKET:
http://fashionfeudfinals01262010.eventbrite.com/

hot dates

i have few hot dates coming up that i’m excited about:

– dinner tonight with @brittneyg. i like meeting new people from the internet. some of them have become my bestest friends.

– i am thinking of going to see The Coup - awesome conscious bay area political hiphop - tomorrow night @ the Independent. i’ve been a fan for years, but here’s the thing: their bass player was randomly shot while driving Tuesday night on I-80. no shit. fuck gangstas. instead of cancelling the show, it’s on, and i bet it’s gonna go OFF.

– i’m going to be a fashion judge at the Fashion Feud SF finale on January 26 (fb event here). i am so not qualified for this.

–Feb 1 is me&jay’s 12 YEAR anniversary.  yes. i know, right?

– i’m gonna be a fashion model at the 3rd annual LoveSick fashion show on Feb 14, with lots of my favorite designers.  it’s a pretty hot valentine’s event. (fb event here).

– Erykah Badu @ the Oakland Fox Theatre on 2/19. oooo yes. it’s been a long time i’ve been waiting to see her.

there’s a whole other lotta crap on my calendar in the next 5 weeks, but those are some of the things i’m looking forward to most.

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.