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Archive for the ‘bright lines’ Category

Lil Wayne Blogs from the Pent

In Artz, Daily Rotation, Muses and Music, bright lines on April 6, 2010 at 6:27 am

Yes, that’s right–Lil’ Wayne is blogging and selling merch from prison.

In his Letter #1, Lil’ Wayne says:

“During my prison stint, I want my fans to know I love you. I want all of you to know that I appreciate all the mail I get, and this is my way of saying thank you. The F is for Family, Friends, and Fans.

“Love. Live. Life. Proceed. Progress. That’s who I am and who I’ll always be. You see, we’re all living on borrowed time, so I’m not worried about this situation. Life happens quick. The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done…you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do. Trying to tear down the past prohibits you from building up your future. So for my time here, my physical will be confined to the yard. My love and my spirit, however, know no boundaries.”

You can even get a ‘Weezy Thanx You’ desktop/Twitter background:

http://weezythanxyou.com/goodies/

Lil’ Wayne is currently serving a year long sentence at Riker’s for illegal weapon possession. Apparently he’s isolated from the general population, and can be eligible for parole in eight months for good behavior. Sigh…

Stay strong Weezy!

Some love for “A Milli” :

Daily Rotation: Yukino Kano renders Debussy

In Artz, Daily Rotation, Feminista, all that glitters, bright lines on January 19, 2010 at 1:16 am

23 year old Japanese pianist, Yukino Kano, plays Claude Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau (Reflections in the Water) with grace and masterful touch. Each tremble across the length of the piano evokes ripples and currents, and she is a wonder to hear and watch.

10 Things the U.S. Can and Should do for Haiti

In Politickin', bright lines on January 14, 2010 at 5:38 pm

I’m reposting this brilliant list.

By Bill Quigley of the Louisiana Justice Institute

One. Allow all Haitians in the US to work. The number one source of money
for poor people in Haiti is the money sent from family and workers in the US
back home. Haitians will continue to help themselves if given a chance.
Haitians in the US will continue to help when the world community moves on
to other problems.

Two. Do not allow US military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians.
Hungry Haitians are not the enemy. Decisions have already been made which
will militarize the humanitarian relief – but do not allow the victims to be
cast as criminals. Do not demonize the people.

Three. Give Haiti grants as help, not loans. Haiti does not need any more
debt. Make sure that the relief given helps Haiti rebuild its public sector
so the country can provide its own citizens with basic public services.

Four. Prioritize humanitarian aid to help women, children and the elderly.
They are always moved to the back of the line. If they are moved to the back
of the line, start at the back.

Five. President Obama can enact Temporary Protected Status for Haitians with
the stroke of a pen. Do it. The US has already done it for El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Somalia. President Obama should do it on
Martin Luther King Day.

Six. Respect Human Rights from Day One. The UN has enacted Guiding
Principles for Internally Displaced People. Make them required reading for
every official and non-governmental person and organization.
Non-governmental organizations like charities and international aid groups
are extremely powerful in Haiti – they too must respect the human dignity
and human rights of all people.

Seven. Apologize to the Haitian people everywhere for Pat Roberts and Rush
Limbaugh.

Eight. Release all Haitians in US jails who are not accused of any crimes.
Thirty thousand people are facing deportations. No one will be deported to
Haiti for years to come. Release them on Martin Luther King day.

Nine. Require that all the non-governmental organizations which raise money
in the US be transparent about what they raise, where the money goes, and
insist that they be legally accountable to the people of Haiti.

Ten. Treat all Haitians as we ourselves would want to be treated.

Bill is Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law
professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He is a Katrina survivor and has
been active in human rights in Haiti for years with the Institute for
Justice and Democracy in Haiti.

The Thin White Sketchbook

In Artz, bright lines, nerdysexycool on December 22, 2009 at 2:11 am

I spoke too soon. I do love Kanye, but I love David Bowie more. Courtesy of comic artist, writer and critic Sean T. Collins’ project “The Thin White Sketchbook’, a collection of David Bowie sketches. Some old Bowie, some young, some black and white, others in color, all of them homages to the magic that’s Bowie.

Here’s TV On the Radio songster, visual artist, & animator Tunde Adebimpe’s rendition of Bowie:

Check out Sean’s blog: http://www.alltooflat.com/about/personal/sean/

You can check out more of the Bowie sketches @http://www.flickr.com/photos/9486145@N04/sets/72157602061430969/

Bowie in Bed…drawn by the married duo, Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing:

And finally, Old Bowie dreamin’ of Young Bowie, by Mark Kindt:

Carmen Herrera, Painter, 94

In Artz, Feminista, bright lines on December 20, 2009 at 5:46 am

Whenever those Saturn Return-y thoughts creep into my head, of not doing/having done “enough” already…I’m refreshed by elders.

Cuban-born painter Carmen Herrera, sold her first painting five years ago, at the age of 89.

So now, she’s 94 years old!

Some words o’ wisdom from Herrera (courtesy of the NY Times)

“Look, to me it was white, beautiful white, and then the white was shrieking for the green, and the little triangle created a force field. People see very sexy things — dirty minds! — but to me sex is sex, and triangles are triangles.”

“I have more money now than I ever had in my life.”

“Only my love of the straight line keeps me going.”

Daily Rotation: Battles’ “Tonto”

In Daily Rotation, bright lines on November 29, 2009 at 11:19 pm

Math Rockers!

Dialog Box #2: Untitled by Carlos E. Fernández-Dieppa

In Dialog Box, The Talented Mssrs. & Mlles. I Know, all that glitters, bright lines, nerdysexycool on November 29, 2009 at 11:03 pm

Artist/Designer/Thinker/Bu, Carlos E. Fernández-Dieppa, photographed this last week.

There’s something sensual about this quartet of cords, no?

I love how the vivid image of one cord pops against its blurred counterparts–as if one could pluck it right out of the picture.

I noticed my eyes struggling to focus between different parts of the image. It seems to be a matter of binocular rivalry.

“When one image is presented to one eye and a very different image is presented to the other, instead of the two images being seen superimposed, one image is seen for a few moments, then the other, then the first, and so on, randomly for as long as one cares to look.”

me: gimme a quotable quote, waxy moustaches

los.veni.vidi: This photograph illustrates a duality between clarity and abstraction. On the one hand, depth is inferred by the use of focus on the object in the foreground the silhouettes are blurred in the background. Conversely, one could interpret the image as multiple cords in front of a depthless plane.

los.veni.vidi: If you interpret the background as a depthless plane, while still illustrating depth through the use of focus, it differs in that you can speculate what you perceive as object and shadow.

(Some pretty deep thoughts after we’d hit up The Back Room –102 Norfolk @ Delancey– sippin’ on Jameson in teacups):

lustre du sein (titty chandelier):

(I happen to have some white spot on the corner of my mouth. Hm. Don’t have the Photoshop, so here you are, here I am, unadulterated.)

David Byrne & Brian Eno’s “Strange Overtones”

In Artz, Daily Rotation, bright lines, nerdysexycool on November 10, 2009 at 4:07 am

Check it–It’s not an official video–but I liked the heart monitor ala Bright Lines with this tune. “Strange Overtones” is on David Byrne and Brian Eno’s record Everything that Happens Will Happen Today.

While Brian Eno focused on instrumentals, David Byrne blessed the record with his sonorous magic–

Says Eno:

“Upon starting this project, we quickly realized we were making something like electronic gospel, music in which singing becomes the central event, but whose sonic landscapes are atypical of such vocal-centered tracks. This notion tapped into my long love affair with gospel music, which, curiously, was inadvertently initiated by David and the Talking Heads.’”

David Byrne

The beautiful & strange Mr. Byrne

Now, you can see the man’s genius if you read his journal, but I love this entry:

“Some years ago I visited Bell Labs and was shown the famous anechoic (perfect, sound absorbent) chamber. This was where John Cage claimed that he could hear both his heart pounding and the high-pitched whine of his nervous system. His insight was that true silence doesn’t exist — even if we can block out everything else, we can’t stop hearing ourselves.

Here is one such chamber:

He’s even got an Alien Espresso Cup line with Illy.

Daily Rotation: Neon Indian

In Daily Rotation, Williamsburg, bright lines on October 27, 2009 at 1:27 am

Love this project of 21-year old Mexico-born, Texas-bred Alan Palomo, AKA Neon Indian.

I’m feelin’ his smooth boy vocals layered with lo-fi pop & video game soundtracks. He’s fly too:

In homage to a beautiful summer gone by, from his debut EP, Psychic Chasms:

Deadbeat Summer, by Neon Indian

Allison Elizabeth Taylor

In Artz, The Talented Mssrs. & Mlles. I Know, bright lines on October 23, 2009 at 9:20 am

Allison Elizabeth Taylor's, Swimming Pool, wood inlay courtesy of James Cohan gallery

Allison Elizabeth Taylor's, Swimming Pool, wood inlay courtesy of James Cohan gallery

Wood.

Art.

Marquetry.

Inlay.

Here’s the work of Brooklyn based artist, Allison Elizabeth Taylor.

I love this piece, Swimming Pool, which is all those thangs. Talk about straight out of a comic book. Or Cougar Town. (Not the show, but the ever-more fascinating concept.)

It’s 70 X 40 inches, made completely of wood. And Ms. Taylor’s supreme abilities with wood is remarkable; the way the grain evokes age, contour, pattern, space & time.

For all you riders, check this piece too, entitled, Hank:

Here the wood captures the essence of the terrain. Seriously sedimentary. Against the ruggedness of the landscape, the dapper bicyclist, Hank, is caught in a moment.

Daily Rotation: Amadou et Mariam’s “Sabali”

In Daily Rotation, bright lines on October 23, 2009 at 8:57 am

This electro-Afro-pop jam “Sabali,” by blind lovebirds Amadou et Mariam (on their sophomore album, Welcome to Mali) leaves me feeling whimsical and refreshed. Especially when Mariam busts out with a lil’ spoken bit over this sweet electro beat.

Their first record, Dimanche a Bamako (Sunday in Bamako), produced by Manu Chao, was heavily influenced by the genius, and his vocals and aesthetic influenced the record a lot. Since then, he’s no longer their producer, and “Sabali” was produced by Damon Albarn, of Gorillaz & frontman of Blur.

Amadou et Mariam, de Mali

Amadou et Mariam, de Mali

Copper Highlights

In The 'Ness, Williamsburg, all that glitters, bright lines, nerdysexycool on October 22, 2009 at 8:00 am

Remember those ”Can you find the…?” games in Highlights magazine? Those were sort of the only things that made flu shots & dentist shiz bearable when I was a kid.

These molds range from fascinating to regular–when my friend The Chronolect questioned, “Who would want a mold of a rooster?”

Or a cat?

Playing on the words “rooster” & “cat” is pretty raunchayyyyy. Okay, I’m corny. We figured it was some irony on the part of the owners of this collection, in S. Williamsburg, or perhaps it’s our own diabolical minds in action.

Either way–copper = healing or if you throw a penny in a flame =

When copper gets heated up, the flame turns turquoise green. Cool!

Copper electrons jump out of their normal orbitals, then drop back into their normal orbitals.

So, they emit light with frequencies in the blue and green range.

Not to get all 11th grade teacher on y’all, but here’s a cool periodic table that shows you the emission spectrum of all the elements. So, when their electrons do a lil’ two-step, the color that is emitted is indicated by this chart.

Inneresting fact: (this is Wikitalk here, but I was informed of this by The Chronolect): “Most molluscs and some arthropods such as the horseshoe crab use the copper-containing pigment hemocyanin rather than iron-containing hemoglobin for oxygen transport, so their blood is blue when oxygenated rather than red.”

Some say copper has healing properties–back in the days in India folks used it for boils and venereal disease; the Egyptians laced drinking water with it. My grandma uses it for arthritis and aches.

Malleability is fly…

Lord knows we learn this the hard way.

Giant Females Spinnin’ 3ft Webs

In Feminista, bright lines, nerdysexycool on October 21, 2009 at 6:53 pm

Forget mustache envy!

Nephila komaci as the largest web spinning spider known to science. Only the females of this groups of species are giants, with a leg span of up to 12cm (4.7in); the male spiders are tiny by comparison. Courtesy of BBC.

Nephila komaci as the largest web spinning spider known to science. Only the females of this groups of species are giants, with a leg span of up to 12cm (4.7in); the male spiders are tiny by comparison. Courtesy of BBC.

These spiders are found in Madagascar & Maputaland. While Nephila spiders have been widely studied by scientists, this particular species has just been discovered, supporting the widely accepted evolutionary theory that female gigantism occurs in order to produce larger number of offspring.

And, not bad work for the considerably smaller male:

Moiré Patterns

In bright lines, nerdysexycool on October 20, 2009 at 7:11 pm

From Wikipedia:

In physics, a moiré pattern is an interference pattern created, for example, when two grids are overlaid at an angle, or when they have slightly different mesh sizes. Comes from the French word for a type of fabric–generally silk–that has a rippled appearance.

Par example:

Check www.mathematik.com, to see Moiré in motion.

Or:

Computer-rendered 7-slit Optical Interference Pattern:

Physics, kids!

Daily Rotation: Ol’ Dirty Bastard

In Daily Rotation, Williamsburg, bright lines on October 19, 2009 at 6:39 am

Above: Glimmering juke box at King’s Country bar in E. Williamsburg.

Upon closer examination: who else but….

That’s right y’all–Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers. Shimmy Shimmy ya shimmy ya shimmy yea!!!!

(This looks silly written out, I suppose.)

In a bout of Wu-stalgia, I snapped a shot of this most auspicious record. Although his death anniversary is not until November 13, the poor Wu-wallah died of a drug overdose just two days shy of his 36th birthday. I thought I’d commemorate the humorous, eccentric, and lyrically vulgar ODB, known to his loved ones as “Rusty.”

Note: I am not a proponent of ’Ooh baby I like it rawwww”– please make sure you use one of these:

Or:

Aiiiight, enjoy ODB’s Shimmy Shimmy Ya!

oooh pretty bright lines…

In all that glitters, bright lines on October 13, 2009 at 1:48 am

Kylie Minogue concert, courtesy of a Vassar homey, JBH.

Pretty like Mlle. Ky herself!

Below, a vintage Bushwich Youth Theatre Collective photo, our 2005 production of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. (Apparently Tyler Perry is making a film version this, as one has been made before.)

If you’ve got any photos that can be classified as “bright lines” please send to nandininessa [at] gmail [dot] com!