29.2.08

On Her Dress She Wears A Body

This is the performance I wrote about a few weeks ago that I participated in at ArtLA in the Regen Projects booth for Molly Keogh. I should maybe make a career out of this. Artists who compose performances for others to execute can hire me for the low low fee of $150 per performance (fee negotiable - you can always pay me more if you feel so moved...)

26.2.08

Of Note

From Tomdispatch: an article that presents and discusses one of Noam Chomsky's recent articles.

It emphasizes something that gets lost in all the O'Reilly-like screaming and circular pseudo-debate between Democrats - point of view.

All it takes is a little consideration, such as "What would I as president do if a hostile foreign nation started flying bomber jets in my country's airspace?" Or maybe "How would I feel if one day, I woke up as my home was being bulldozed for no other reason than that an occupying force decided they wanted to settle on my land?"

When we say "the world", are really talking about the world, or just our corner? Do we really understand the meaning of the word "terrorism"? Hmmm....

I think the answer is 'no'.

25.2.08

Videos of the Week

Leguman!! Season 1...



C'est si bon, oui? My new friend Tony showed me this.
NON!!

Vanity 6 - Susan "sings" Drive Me Wild



Wonderfully trashy! So bad, it's good!

22.2.08

Coachella!!



If I can save up enough money and find a scalper, I'll go to the 2nd day of Coachella this year. I'm just not as excited about it as I was last year. Coachella 2007 was my first time going to such an event, and of course you know the reason why I went...



YES! YEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe it! It was everything I thought it would be! I paid way too much money on a Sunday ticket just to see them, and it was so worth it! Favorite quote of the evening:

"Some of those that hold office are the same who burn crosses..."
-Zack de la Rocha

A little background: When I was in high school, I wasn't allowed to go to any concerts because most of the artists I like cuss in their songs. And my mother (bless her heart) felt that any cussing was wrong in any context and I couldn't go. I became a Rage fan in the 8th grade, but never had the opportunity to see them live. And then they broke up and all hope was lost.

Fast forward to when I heard on KROQ (eww, please don't think that I listen to that station) last February that Rage Against the Machine was playing the 3rd day of Coachella. I said "WHAT??!!!" And I proceded to pay $200 for a scalped ticket. Such is my dedication. So Sunday morning, April 29th 2007, my homegirl and I got on the road to the middle of the desert to go feel some music.

Even though I went to see mainly Rage, I got to see a West African group called Konono No. 1 They were super cool, and very entertaining - I highly recommend their music. The way I and the people in the audience responded to their sound made me think of it as an organic rave. Very long songs that would vary slightly after a while, changing it into something new with a little African-style exhortation here and there.

Paul Van Dyk was AMAZING and so cute! He was all the way live, I'm telling you. His set was a contiguous one and a half hours of spontaneous creation, and he never missed a beat. It was like he was sending energy into the crowd of thousands in that tent, and we were sharing it amongst ourselves before sending it back to him. It was like a larger-scale Konono No. 1, and I couldn't stop moving! I met a guy there from Chicago who promised to protect me during Rage's performance, because I wanted to be close when they came on.

I ALMOST DIED. First of all, I had barely eaten that day. If I remember correctly, breakfast was a donut and coffee, lunch was kettle corn and a smoothie, and dinner was whatever water I could manage to gulp whenever someone would crack a bottle and pour it all over themselves and other people. Plus an afternoon screwdriver that we had brought in the car. So it was only natural that I came close to passing out several times during Rage's set, and collapsed with exhaustion on my way back to the car afterward. Second of all, the festival is held on polo grounds with loose grass being kicked up by Raza and hipsters high on ecstasy/acid/mushrooms/weed/whatever. Add that to the fact that the pollen count was high, and it's no wonder I fell was wheezing in my car afterward. Third of all, Chicago-dude had managed to get us front and center before Rage came on. As soon as they walked onstage, the pushing started. I was in the middle of the largest mosh pit ever for the first time in my life, and if it weren't for Chicago-dude, I would have been trampled to death by Raza and discontent headbanger white boys.

I also lost my shirt.

I don't think that I'll ever hear live rock and roll that good again in life. They sounded so extraordinary - I thought my heart would explode!! When Monsieur de la Rocha proclaimed that those in the current US administration should be hung and tried and shot for their war crimes, I thought I was gonna catch the Holy Spirit and have a righteous fit! If you love rock and roll music, and you weren't there, you super missed out because their sound is electrifying. I tell you what; Tom Morello needs to be my boyfriend. They appropriately ended with "Killing in the Name", and I was surprised that there wasn't a full-scale riot! A second time, I nearly spontaneously combusted.

Isn't that the best experience ever?? I know little black girls aren't supposed to get down like that, but maybe they should. I never was that prissy, and I never was that interested in living in a mental cage. My apartment is small enough (14 x 9ft), thank you very much. That was the best day of my LIFE!

I don't think that this year will compare, but like I said, if I go, it will be to the second day. I LOVE M.I.A., and I've always wanted to see Kraftwerk live - I heard that they're super-weird. And maybe I'll enjoy Flogging Molly. I'm not a huge fan of theirs, but I have a feeling that it will be - shall I say - an experience. Leading to an adventure. Any suggestions? Anyone willing to sponsor my trip? Let me know... I'll write about it on this blog...

14.2.08

Performance Modification

That was probably the most intense thing I've ever done. Slide show here.

I and eight others performed a re-telling (of sorts) of Bruce Nauman's 1973 work "Tony Sinking Into the Floor, Face Up and Face Down". The modifications:

1. For over two hours, we had to continuously perform death poses.
2. That continuous movement had to be sssslllllloooooooooowwwwwww.
3. And we had to imagine ourselves sinking into the floor.

The concentration. The itches. I was super zoned out, but at one point I locked eyes with a friend of mine who came to see, and nearly burst out laughing because of the look on her face. I also nearly crushed every bone in my left arm trying to turn over in slow-motion with rubber samurai armor on my body.

It was grrrreat!

7.2.08

One of my jobs...

...is being an on-call substitute for LAUSD, the middle and high schools. I took the CBEST and passed it, and got my training back in October, but no work. I had gotten called only 3 times previously, and always when I was grossly unprepared or working somewhere else. So when this semester started, I thought to myself, "Okay. I'm gonna get up at 6 every morning, take a shower, have breakfast, work on some art or watch a movie, and wait for the call.

No call.

Except for the ONE morning I decided to sleep in because I had had trouble sleeping the night before. All those days getting up and waiting for nothing, and the one morning I'm unprepared they call me! Ten minutes after the workday had started! I couldn't go: I hadn't showered or brushed my teeth, my face was still ugly with sleep-puffiness, the drool...

You get the idea.


Today I subbed special-ed at Johnnie Cochran Middle School. It was an alright day. The kids that they call special-ed aren't what we would have called them at my high school - they're just slow learners, and honestly the vibe that I got from most of them was that they didn't want to try anymore because they were afraid of and angry about failure, and rather than feel stupid in front of everyone, they would rather joke around or do other things. I've heard of worse - this guy I know subs also, and he told me about how on his first day, one of his classes erupted into a melee of students throwing desks at him and at each other.

There's a HUGE population of kids in LA who suffer from PTSD because of the things that they've been through early in life, who are foster kids, who don't know english because they've arrived here from Mexico or other parts of the world... The list goes on and on, and these negative situations are guaranteed to influence behavior. As a sub, you have to choose your battles.

5.2.08

Super Tuesday

I voted.

I was planning on voting only for the propositions on the ballot, when who should I see still listed on the Democratic ticket? Dennis Kucinich, my hero! So I voted for him. What, did you really expect me to vote for Hillary or Obama? Ick! Take your belligerent, tax dollar-wasting foreign policy elsewhere, you fakes!

I know Kucinich is no longer in the race, but they should have taken his name off the ballot.

My "I voted" sticker fell off, and I can't find it...

To paraphrase the late, great Eugene V. Debs: I'd much rather vote for who I want and have them lose, than vote for who I don't want and have them win.

This "lesser of two evils" crap MUST stop...

3.2.08

Last Night

The performance that I'm participating in was moved to Saturday the 9th. So the gallery did this...






J'adore les mariachis! The music makes me feel nostalgic in a sad/sweet kind of way. It reminds me of Mama Sara and Ms. Rozales, two old Mexican ladies who took care of my sister and me when we were little. They were positive influences in our lives, and I'm glad my mother chose them to take care of us when she had to work.