Slow start this morning.

Still working on a commissioned project. It's going well and I'm actually enjoying the process even though it's quite different than how I normally work. There's a beginning and an end. What a concept. Using a grid to plan something is mildly amusing to me, which is good, because it keeps me amused. I'm geeking out with a time tracking app on my iphone, which not only keeps me amused, but also keeps me aware of the time:hourly wage ratio on said project. What a trip. I love what I do.

Yesterday, I did NOT pull out all of my savings and stash it in a cookie jar. I wanted to, but did not.

I have decided to knit a tweed maxi skirt in honor of the economy. I'm half way done with the pocket.

Avoided the crowds, but slowly making the rounds.

Kerry James Marshall at Koplin Del Rio

Alexander Lee at Kinkead Contemporary

Also of interest... a 10-part podcast series produced by Side Street projects, featuring Aimee Chang, Julie Deamer, Kristi Engle, Lisa Melandri. Lorraine Molina, Aram Moshaydi, Jeff Poe, Karen Rapp, Tyler Stallings and Irene Tsatsos.

Also of non-interest, I broke down and joined Twitter. I'm into the banal moments between things right now.

Sat. Lunch documentation

Measure Twice Cut Once.

I am a hopelessly visual person. I have to draw little squares on a piece of paper in order to calculate square footage. Even with a calculator, I still have to draw the damn boxes and write numbers above them and to the side in order to trust the numbers.

So now, I wait for clarity. More accurately, I wait until I can wrap my head around some numbers before I call in my cuts to the paper store-again. It's slightly more complex as I'm trying to calculate the excess needed for making deckle edges for a square. Many of them.
I could measure a one inch border 3 times and still be off by a 16th of an inch each time, yet if I eyeball it, I'm good to go each time.

I know both of these people.

The first photo was emailed to me. The second, I found when visiting Beth's blog.

Support

The following email arrived in my inbox, so I'm passing it along:

Yesterday afternoon, a Metrolink commuter train carrying 225 people collided with a freight train in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley, killing at least 23 and leaving at least 135 injured. Survivors have been rushed to several local area hospitals and many are in critical condition.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. The UCLA Blood and Platelet Center will be open Monday through Friday to accept blood donations. Healthy donors of all blood types are needed to donate blood. Appointments can be made by calling 310-794-7217 ext. 2. Contact the Red Cross at 800-RED-CROSS or visit www.redcross.org for other information about blood donation or ways you can help.

Thank you, and please keep your thoughts and prayers with the families and victims affected by this terrible tragedy.

Mitchell

Mitchell Schwartz
California State Director
Obama for America

Plus, here is a direct link to setting up an appointment.

Sat lunch documentation

No banana. Forgot.

Really, it's not that bad, but maybe one day it was.

Well so much for happy, shiny art. In truth, I'm in a good mood today. Feel good. Have purpose. Drank a wee bit too much caffeine, but otherwise, I'm rating a 92/100 today.

Was scheduled to meet someone for coffee today, so I suggested a not-so-new-place in Culver City called Royal-T. Not the typical coffeehouse or tea room. Ian Schrager meets MOCA meets Tokyo Pop. The maid/waitress outfits seem a little overkill, but there is an air of efficiency. Surrounded by some serious art, cordoned off by the largest Plexiglas cubes I have ever scene in my life, I had 2 lovely cappuccinos with soy milk and the Avocado Toast, which sounds much more dignified than a scoop of guac on bread.

Funk minus one, right about now

A commission came in, so most of October's taken care of for now.


Intro
DJ: WBCN who's this?
Brad: Hey this is Brad (this is Brad this is)
DJ: Now uh who's your favorite artist, who
do you want to hear?
Brad: Well m my favorite artist right now is
Fatboy Slim, that guy kicks ass.
DJ: How tremendous is Fatboy Slim?
Brad: The band of the 90's, if you want to call
it a band because it's a one man name.
DJ: Wow...fatboy, and you want to hear that
new fatboy song?
Brad: Absolutely.
DJ: Which one?
Brad: The um funk soul brother check it out.
DJ: Sing it, I don't know which one.
Brad: Right about now, the funk soul brother
check it out now, the funk soul brother.


Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
'bout now
'bout now
'bout now

Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother

Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother

Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now


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The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
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Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right...About...Now
Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother

Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
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The Funk Soul Brother, Right About Now
The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now
The Funk Soul Brother

Funk

Yes, I've been in one. You probably hadn't noticed. I've been covering it up so well with all the glam shots of my vegan baking and the incredibly dry, Saturday Lunch Documentation Project.

So I'll play armchair psych with myself and make some observations-
Food is comforting.
Cooking, and especially baking is comforting.
Routines are comforting.
Knitting is comforting and I'll more than likely be starting another skirt very, very soon.

There does come a time when even a gesture is not fast enough and there's too much lag time between squeezing out the paint, picking up a brush and making a mark. Or when paint is simply not enough. I guess my comfort level depends upon how much space is between me and my art, between me and my life. Writing comes to the rescue when painting is too mute a form of documentation. Video, readymades and photographs can fill in the blanks.

Sat. Lunch documentation

On the fly here, no edits...

This weekend in L.A.

Too many openings to list this evening: Bergamot Station. Culver City, China Town, Mid-Wilshire, and a slew of others.

But then on Sunday, there's the "Peak of Summer" Tomato festival at the Hollywood Farmer's Market.

I know this because I caught Huell Howser on TV last night interviewing the tomatophiles.
When: 09/07/2008 from 08:00am to 01:00pm

Where: Hollywood

Address:

Hollywood Farmers' Market
City: Hollywood
Location: Ivar and Selma Avenue between Hollywood and Sunset Blvd.

The Hollywood Farmers’ Market will host its annual Peak of Summer Tomato Festival on Sunday, September 7, 2008 during the normal market hours (8 am – 1 pm). This annual event, featured in 2004 on PBS’ Visiting with Huell Howser, celebrates the plethora of tomatoes available during the summer season at the market. All events are free and open to the public.

• Free samples of 30+ tomato varieties, 9 am – 12 pm. As an educational opportunity for the Market’s customers, free samples of each of the tomato varieties will be available for sampling.
• Chef E will prepare fresh Green Zebra tomato juices, 10 am – 12 pm
• From 11 am – 1 pm, Heirloom Gardener and author Amy Goldman will sign copies of her newest book Heirloom Tomatoes, from Garden to Table.
• Cooking demos of delicious and easy tomato recipes, 11 am – 1 pm
• Tips and information on how to can and sun-dry tomatoes, 9 am – 12 pm
• Recipes and information on the art of preserving and canning tomatoes will also be readily available.

The Tomato Festival episode of Visiting with Huell Howser will be rebroadcast Friday, September 5th at 7:30 pm on KCET.

The Hollywood Farmers’ Market is located at Ivar and Selma Avenues between Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards every Sunday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Limited free parking is available at 1623 N. Vine Street in the Doolittle Theatre parking lot until 1 pm. Parking is also available at the Arclight/Cinerama Dome parking structure at Sunset & Ivar. 1st Hour free with market validation.

From the archives...

I was thumbing through issue #4 of Plastic Ass, trying to see if my life had changed that much since 1997. Plastic Ass was the D.I.Y. zine precursor to this blog, except being a zine, it was somewhat organized into sections revolving round various aspects of my life. If I get energetic, I'll make them available for downloading.

Meanwhile, here is an section I wrote that was inspired by looking at about 2 hours of McDonald's chroma key footage of an international version of Ronald McDonald popping out of a blue screen offering fries to no one.

Plastic Ass Presents
The Chroma Key Caper.
A Tale of intrigue and boredom. Mostly boredom.

It was a day just like any other day. Only something was different. Something funny. Funny I thought, but I didn't laugh. The sky was blue. Real blue, if you know what I mean. There was something strange about this blue. Something funny. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was there all right. I just had to know where to look. "Look here," I said. To no one in particular. Right about then, some clown walked by making little swooping gestures with his fingers.

I went back to the studio. I had to think. The phone rang. It was the dame downstairs. She was calling to complain about the toilet overflowing. What am I, a plumber? Funny, I thought, sometimes I am. But I didn't want to go there now. Sure enough, water was running all over the floor. I couldn't think in these conditions. I made a half-ass attempt to mop it up. I couldn't get that clown outta my head. I had seen him somewhere before.

I decide to pour myself a drink. I needed a strong cup of joe, hovering around 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Something that would produce 3rd degree burns within two to seven minutes of hitting my skin.

A hit of java was just what the doctor ordered. Not really. Nor did he order all these french fries. But I was onto something now. I was obsessed with finding the perfect fry. According to the rules, all French fries should be perfect. Upright, bright, cheap and free of mold. Yeah, upright and cheap. Fries like that are a dime a dozen.

To be continued...

Of course, it was never continued and it's rife with typos and such, but my hard-boiled dada story made me laugh today.