What makes me Filipino? -- Noses

Here is a collection of noses from Lorenzo's portraits (www.knivesandpillows.com). I've been told before that Filipino people have distinct noses-- usually flat. The folklore goes that when the boat with all the noses arrived, the Filipinos were last to choose because of their short legs. Hmm. Can you tell which noses are Filipino?

Solvang Century Bike Ride 2009

Due to my undying love of aebleskiver, cuckoo clocks, and near torturous recreational activities, I've signed up to ride the Solvang half century (50 miles) on my trusty road bike. Along with fellow bike geeks, Mike, Jason and Meespace, we shall all re-visit the quiet wine country and steep hill to cookie mountain all for what is considered "fun."

Related -- the Lowbrow Art Movement

Image by Jeff Soto

My illustrative pursuits might not be just my soul searching, but my soul becoming current. Apparently, Juxtapoz magazine founder, Robert Williams, has coined the term "Lowbrow Art" for the recent flow of street art and illustration that has come to cover gallery walls in most art meccas. This is our movement here in Los Angeles.

I like to think of this movement as more of an acceptance than a retreat. It's our culmination of pop culture and our subjective awareness that makes it art. Rothko, who's paintings are far more expensive than say Murakami's (a Lowbrow artist)paintings, would argue that this is not fine art. But I am constantly at odds with Mark Rothko because I don't feel that art should be defined, but rather embraced. This art is relative and speaks of the times we live in. It boldly attacks expecation and convention in one swoop.

The artwork that stems from graffiti, cartoons, comic books, and even logos are now being appreciated. Mostly inspired by music and beloved imagery from our youth, we begin to accept cute as an art. So much that people buy it and love it for the accessibility. This is what I'm contributing to now, but who knows what it will be in 5 years.

Dear Kaws (Brian Donnelly)

I stood outside the Honor Fraser Gallery on Saturday to see your work. But you know what? You forgot us. That's so disappointing because nearly a hundred of us stood there in the cold (under raindrops) just to see your work but no one told us we wouldn't get it. What gives, jerk!? I spent 30 minutes to park tucked away on a dark street near shady characters on their lawn just to get in that ridiculous line. It's OK, I'll have to go see your stuff when it's less convenient for your friends.

I really like the stuff you did with Kanye and Kate Moss. I especially love your poop on a stick (which I was anxiously awaiting to purchase). Plus I heard you seemed somewhat annoyed by fans who were asking you to sign their sketchbooks. Look, we're buying your art and are entirely inspired by you, you ingrate. Show an ounce of gratitude. Please.

Friday night with the Midnight Ridazz

After work I rushed over to downtown. I was so disappointed that I had to miss LA's Korean "taco" the town (that's right I went there!), the Kogi BBQ truck but was just in time to meet up with the gang for the "No Name" ride. We were handed spoke cards and a piece of paper with a list of turns. Then off we went pedaling through the streets of East LA. Dogs barking through chainlink fences, but nothing more really. The streets were calm with exception of our group of 60 or so riders shouting and laughing.

We came across some hills and anxiously watched as the brakeless bikes skidded down hills just precisely enough to near miss a run-in with oncoming cars. Our happy group (Eva, Lorenzo, Meespace and Jason) had such a fun time that we had unknowingly gone all the way to Commerce Casino, which is about 10 miles south of Los Angeles.

Upon our return to Los Angeles, Jason and Lorenzo and I craved some lower items in the food chain- Del Taco. At 3:30am, we went to USC where sat at ate surrounded by numerous drunken frat kids on their way home from Mardi Gras night. We had never felt so proud to be from UC Santa Cruz.

The Oscars from 2 blocks away

For Tinseltown, the Academy Awards are a huge event. We're the ones that keep tabs on which movies will win and have pretty on-the-mark predictions for the Oscars' outcomes, yet we STILL sit and watch and get so emotionally involved. (I mean, really, everyone KNEW Slumdog was going to win even if you didn't think it was worthy)

I live within 2 blocks of all this hoopla. My street was congested with locals who have lost their way among the newly posted detours. Helicopters all night! But while watching the broadcast, I couldn't believe how glamorous they made the Kodak theater seem. They hid the Sanrio store and unknown clothing shops so well that no one could tell that it was the most hideous building in Los Angeles .

But all in all I think it's great that our entire Hollywood community gets together annually to celebrate the year's achievements. It's an amazing event and collection of workers/artists whose purpose in life is to make something larger than life. Forget about their clothing and their gossip (like how awkward was it for Jennifer Aniston to present while Brangelina sat in the front row with their Best Actor/Actress nominations?), because all that dazzle will all be returned to normal anyway.

Congrats to everyone who won!

Puppy Screen Cleaner

http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf

Happy Belated Birthday Kristen

Oh my cousin, Kristen, and I truly are related. The same nerf dart dilemma happened for her ... except she used 2 automatic tommy dart guns and has a fondness for bat wings.


For Uncle Les and Auntie Risa

Exciting news: Woolly Mammoth Bones Found at La Brea Tarpits

Right next door to my office building, a complete woolly mammoth skeleton was found along with a large collection of well preserved fossils. The impact on the paleontology world is huge, but the immediate impact is that a lot of people will be crowding my regular lunch place at the museum. Will have to scout for other food. Darn. Anyway, I think it's great that some good came out of the La Brea Tar Pits...

Colbert Report :: Who has the rights to that Obama picture?

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Obama Poster Debate - David Ross and Ed Colbert

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Funny Political News

Christian Bale Parody
Joke of the Day

An interesting debate over the ownership of an art piece between the Whitney and a Lawyer.

My Friends, the Modern Young Urban Professionals?

Now that my friends have taken the step from 25 to now, from student lifestyle to something more lasting, I have to admit we've become somewhat yuppy-ish. Now that we have our jobs and a modest amount of responsibility, we're considered makers and definitely consumers. We still manage to spread awareness and control dependency via the internet, but are we the new young urban professionals? Because the term has its stigma, and for the most part we pride ourselves in being artists and bohemian...

For instance, the closest guy buddies in my life all commute by bicycle. Historically, a bicycle was deemed somewhat a poor man's mode of transportation. After all it requires minimal maintenance and no fuel costs, which also lend to its hippy stereotypes. But the bikes that my friends have are not cheap bikes. They range in the $1000's in addition to all the equipment and fancy bike wear that is far from wallet-friendly.

My girlfriends (they know who they are) identify with overall hobo-dom with a dash of love from their creature comforts like designer labels. From designer denim to designer shoes, we embrace it all. The men buy their share of designer labels as well. Yes, we know what Mary Kate Olsen wears but also where to buy it.

Oh did I mention to you the kinds of health conscious mumbo jumbo we put consume? Mike and my frequent trips to Whole Foods to find other concoctions to promote a healthy living. Mike, a vegan, and I managed to purchase all the gluten-free, dairy free, organic goodness we could. So much to consider in order to make dinner!

So it's not so much that we are actually yuppies, but that we are a new breed of baby boho yuppies that like to look like hobos and care about the environment and enjoy recreational sports. We still enjoy the fruits of our labor like G-Star, Balenciaga, Iphones over cans of Tecate (a cheap beer). We have a certain consciousness and resourcefulness that the hippies and Reagan-era yupsters just didn't exercise but built a solid platform for us to build upwards.

Happy Valentines Day

with Jason and Lorenzo. Love makes you strong!

What? More stuff for Friday the 13th? :: Lauren Barcelon Solo Show @ Maniac Gallery

My old buddy, Lauren Barcelon, is opening her solo show "For Catatonic Eternity" at the Maniac Gallery in Oakland tonight. I've always enjoyed her artwork and can only expect great things from her in the future. For more info: Maniac Gallery

Here's a great write up on the show:

FOR CATATONIC ETERNITY: New Work by Lauren Barcelon

OPENING FRIDAY 2.13.09, 7-10 PM

MANIAC proudly presents the first solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Barcelon, For Catatonic Eternity, a site-specific installation filling the gallery with soft-sculptures of over one-hundred diamond cut replicas. Working with geometrics, the sequencing of mental distortions and compulsions, Barcelon's decadently fantastical interpretation of material, modes and ideas behind the model of the multiple make For Catatonic Eternity a full-scale installation where details are repeated so meticulously, all suddenly become one, or conversely, each become imperfected by nature when viewed as a whole.

Crossing the threshold of performance and immersive sculptural installation, Barcelon's work is locked in with her performance (or act of creation), which has included hot-ironing plastic bags, hiding reality T.V. stars in ink-blot nature drawings, and researching diamond geometries for material replication. Barcelon, who has not exhibited in the Bay Area since leaving for Los Angeles in 2006, has typically worked with inorganic, human-made materials dualising formations found in nature to both a social and utilitarian suggestive.

In For Catatonic Eternity Barcelon creates a survey of still documentation and the aftermath of her own private expression pertaining to ideas of replication, multiplication and obsession, this time professing ever-specific patterns of crystal formations, and the geometrics of diamonds through bulk fabric found in Los Angeles' Fashion District. Along side Barcelon's new sculptures on view are C-Print documentation of her distinct process as captured in diorama model stills.

Barcelon has exhibited through out California including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland since receiving her BFA in Sculpture from University of California at Davis in 2003.

Other Friday the 13th News: Gavin Castleton's HOME

That's right ladies and gents. Gavin Castleton's long awaited HOME is now available on Itunes. Enjoy the zombie love!

For more info: Gavin Castleton Home Page

Happy Friday the 13th!

Well in case you're as superstitious as I am, and might have run across some bad luck, check out this website, F My Life, and comiserate with strangers over the internet.

By the way this is unfortunately very funny.

I believe it's a hoax.

Parents and Children

Guess what, parents? According to NPR, it's the first time in 50 years that our generation, "the kids" aren't doing as well as you when you were our age. Financially anyway. So, really it doesn't matter if they're doctors or artists, we're all poor. ALL POOR! (Re-thinking those arguments about career choices now...)

But here's the good news! We're going to be visiting more often now! It will probably be wise to stock up on paper goods and assorted groceries in bulk because it would be helpful to get a few rolls of papertowels and some laundry detergent. We'll happily eat anything you make! Really! Food is good because what we have in our kitchen's is not food. It used to be food. Now, it is just moldy or a box of cereal. Oh boy a laundry machine! That'll be helpful! No need to keeping that box of quarters.

Thank you parents. It'll be over soon.

I Love Keith Haring!

Keith Haring Documentary from ovicone on Vimeo.

Who Is You? #15

Because of you, it's been very difficult to maintain productivity.





You = Rainbow and Headache. Tie.

Quicksilver Movie Trailer

This movie was entertaining.