Left Without

Tomorrow is Canada Day. Canada has lots of amazing things to offer- beaver tails, beer, bacon, the secret to making love in a canoe and Michael Graeme Ross. MGR is a fantastically talented, Canadian born and bred photographer. Whether he is capturing industrial landscapes, wrenches, or intimate images of nature his photos are always exceptionally beautiful and make you feel as though you are being let in on some kind of magical secret. The above photo "Red Dress Girl Dog" is one of my favorites, and a perfect example of Mike's super stellar work.
" You don't take a photograph, you make it." Ansel Adams

No Longer Empty

NO LONGER EMPTY is a group of curators and artists who present exhibits in empty store fronts. Their first exhibit is at the storefronts at the Hotel Chelsea. I stopped by on the opening night and really enjoyed the eclectic mix of work. My favorite piece is the painting in my top picture - I love the bad ass/ethereal vibe of the babes in the boat (I'd like to think that I would fit right in with them). If you're on 23rd street between now and July 19th you should visit the exhibit- maybe you'll find a painted version of yourself (or your imagined self) too.

5 Pointz

I took these pictures of the building in Queens knows as 5 Pointz from the 7 train. I haven't been out to Queens in a while, but now that summer is here (I know the weather has been less that awesome, but I think the sun is on its way) I am psyched for the Water Taxi Beach and the PS1 parties.

Shocks My Brain

I had the sublime pleasure of seeing Phish perform this past Thursday at Jones Beach, LI and Sunday in Camden, NJ. Both shows were amazing- the boys sound better than ever. Love to Ira for organizing the best party bus ever, Roo, Bill, Aysha, Lindsay, Kappi and Jeff for all being so awesome. I would like to write something profound and insightful about the music, scene and overall experience, but I am feeling like a bit of a Fluffhead- so I'll leave you with some of the prettiest lyrics to one of the pretties songs in the universe.

"My glance is always darting, when I stroll the avenue Avoiding all the obstacles that terrorize my view If you are here with me, I trust you to lead the way When you're not I follow you, and always go astray Silent in the morning Suspended in the trees
Lunch time comes you've found your voice It brings me to my knees The volume just increases The resounding echoes grow Till once again I bask in morning stillness, I love so The target that I shoot for seems to move with every breath I tighten all my arteries
and make one last request Divine creation hears me, and he squashes me with fear I think that this exact thing happened to me, just last year Silent in the morning You found your voice that brings me to Silent in the morning You found your voice that brings me to Silent in the morning You found your voice that brings me to my knees I will not dismiss you, shelter you, speak with you Smile at you, trust in me, he'd like to brush you off, and I'd agree".

Even Maybe Tammy (Or, A Cockamamie Bucket of Ruckus)

Last night I went to the opening of the play Even Maybe Tammy (Or, A Cockamamie Bucket of Ruckus) at The Flea Theatre with Steph and Bill (the parenthesis are part of the play's title, I love parenthesis so I knew it would be something I would enjoy). The play was conceived and directed by Christopher Bayes, the Head of Physical acting at Yale and it featured 11 graduates of the 2009 Yale School of Drama's acting program. It was produced by Frances Black (who was wearing a fantastic green shift dress and nude Ferragamo flats and looked amazing) a 2009 Yale School of Drama MFA in theater management and an old friend of Steph's.

Even Maybe Tammy (Or, A Cockamamie Bucket of Ruckus) is f*#cking hilarious. The acting department at Yale School of Drama offers its students the opportunity to perform in a play employing elements of the style of commedia dell'arte and these people killed it. From the opening moments until the amazing finale everyone in the audience, myself included, was pretty much in stitches. The acting department at Yale clearly creates/ is full of geniuses (duh).

If you have 18 bucks to spare and can make to any of the shows between now and the 13th of June you should probably go see it. I promise you won't be disappointed unless, you hate laughing.

Nice Barn

I've spent a lot of time in The Big Smoke the past few weeks hanging out with my brand new nephew and have enjoyed re-discovering my home town. The photos above are of a new development called the Artscape Wychwood Barns. Located near Bathurst and St. Clair, at the site of an abandoned streetcar maintenance and repair facility, the indoor and outdoor development consists of 5 barns that includes live/work apartments for artists, a gallery, theatre spaces, a production greenhouse with a classroom and commercial kitchen, a farmer's market and lots of park space. Although it is not perfect (the amount of much needed revenue this venture will provide to the city is questionable, as is the volleyball net) the Wychwood Barns development is pretty bang on. Aesthetically, its is awesome. I love that the developers incorporated the historic structure along with some of the original signage of the streetcar facility while building a truly modern and multi-purpose space. The Barns will definitely be a destination for me and the little guy.

Not your Standard Dude by Hans Z.

"So I wake up this morning and my head is pretty hazy. In fact you could say that I’m feeling pretty lazy. You see the night before I got a little crazy. But that’s nothing about me that you don’t already know. I’m really into living life these days so when I got a message from my homie Willy asking me if I wanted to grab some dim sum I couldn’t say no.
So we go for some dim sum and you know it’s really pretty yum. The soup was kinda whack and I probably won’t go back, unless of course I took a little smack. But I don’t like to fly that way. I do it the high way and often with a little sauce. Last night it was beer and tequila that really made me squeela.
Back to the meal, it was a real treat. Willy ate so much you could have called it a feat. But really he just mowed lot’s of feet, coming from a chicken. Due to the heavy electro shit I’m rocking right now my typing has started to quicken. So I’m feeling pretty smitten, just like a kitten. My cat is the pride of the pack now though. One old G, and after all his name is Napoleon.
Stop getting sidetracked, on with the story. Bring it back just like morning glory. Oasis was my first ever concert in grade 9 and it was fine. But speaking of an oasis as we were walking back to Kensington to fetch the car I heard a crazy beat from afar. This shit was hella bumping in fact extra shlumping give me one more minute and my body will be crumping. If your house of pain then you are obviously jumping.
We were hit by a waft, and it was definitely soft, it made me feel like I was surrounded by a pillow. The scent was of nag champa extra strength and it could be just a hunch but when I saw buddy eating lunch, I realized that his power to munch might have come from a herbal remedy.
But back to the melody that drew me in at first. The beats were popping off and it gave me quite a thirst. They was reggae after all and it made me feel so fine. I forgot that outside it was pouring down like wine. The inside of the store had an internal shine, ooo wee did it ever make me feel fine. Not a kid with swine flu, not an old man from Mississippi with the blues. More liked blessed like a good man with a really large crew of extra special homies and chronies.
So I snooped around the store and the gear was hella fly, my body started to buzz and I thought that I was high. I cam across some hats, they was pretty fat. Ya maybe with a ph and I’m not talking levels. Although I’m on many different kinds of those. The theme was Bob Marley, and you know he’s a Rasta King. So we got something in common, a bond, a mesh a link. Despite the colour of his skin on the inside we is all pink. Various shades of red, and you know that bones is white. We got more in common then I first had realized, and that’s the power of the mind, working overtime.
I was bouncing my head and then I found the perfect piece to put on it. The colours caught my eye, red, yellow, green and black. As soon as I saw it I gave myself a crack on the back, and said boy this one’s for you. Now I’m part of the club, Jah’s soldier himself. Did some more walking and even got to talk with the lovely store owner, he was even higher than the other guy with the food. No munchies for him in sight but that’s alright he was still keeping it tight.
So I noticed me some right bright socks and the put me in a lock. It’s just the kind of shit that I like to rock. I was satisfied and my eyes were getting crazy, I knew if I stayed any longer my wallet would be empty so I put a cap on it, just like my drinking habit. Haha that’s a joke, as you know I’m an open can enthusiast. Rocking my beer helmet like it’s my job, and that don’t make me a slob. Just a dude that knows he’d rather party than think with his nob. Don’t get it twisted I’m no prude, and I’m sometimes crude, but really rarely rude. Pretty much I’m not your standard dude.
But speaking of manners, I payed for my gear and the man overcharged me. I was oblivious but he must have felt some guilt because as I started looking some more he came up to me and said hey mon you like dis music and I told him yes, he actually read my mind, this whole time I have been thinking about buying a cd. He said mon I took you money and I wasn’t trying to be funny but I charged you too much so have some free beats. It was quite surreal that he knew how to keep it real. He gave me a special treat. Now I’m lifted bumping to that shit. Brrrrr what happened to that boy.
But the moral of the story is that kindness didn’t kill the cat it made him larger than a mouse killing fiend. It made him prouder than a Father of his first born child. It made him greater than Picasso, at painting the picture of life. The world is rife with anger but sometimes you gotta step back and think of your fellow man. Sometimes we lose the plan but we can and will stand up and keep it trill, make sure that every man woman and child will always pay they bills and conquer misery and deprivation. Once I here that is happening Ill be alright with the state of the nation!
The author would like to thank Willy Raskin, and the lovely Rastafarian gentleman at the head shop next to the green p parking in Kensington for inspiring this verbal outburst."

"I just look at the dopeness. But you, it's like you just look at the wackness, ya know?"

Dope things to do tonight:

1. "If you like to party in the 80's you almost certainly still enjoy partying in the 90's. So let's keep this musical adventure rolling..." If you're staying in, but still want to party listen to King Hans plays dj at www.bigduckmusic.com from 10-12pm.
2. Que Bajo?! @ APT with Geko Jones & Uproot Andy. Special Guests this week: N-Ron & Disco Shawn (Bersa Discos). Andy is my friend, he is awesome. He knows about all kinds of crazy music and will really make you wanna shake your money maker. Geko is cool too.
3. Go to Lit. It is the best lounge in New York.
4. Nothing - because you have the most annoying cough ever (I went to the doctor its not swine flu!) and you'd like to have a fun weekend. This may be more wack than dope- I'm really not sure.

hipster grifter

I became intrigued by The Hipster Grifter story in The New York Observer after seeing it on New York Magazine's approval matrix. I love the matrix. Whenever I am stuck looking for words to express my thoughts about something or someone I often use the succinct matrix vernacular of highbrow-brilliant, lowbrow-brilliant, highbrow-despicable, or lowbrow-despicable.

NY Mag was pretty bang on with their placement of the story on the matrix. It is a little sad, and a lot interesting. You can read it here:

http://www.observer.com/2009/style/hipster-grifter