still life 1...
March 30, 2009
March 29, 2009
341...
for ms. scribe's upcoming birthday...somebody decided to give her this...our first robot...of course...it doesn't work...fraking skynet...
March 28, 2009
today's cool shit...
this combines two things i love geeking out over...music and art...
(via cnet)
also...
Mr Bourdain show us how to respond when your nemesis makes a gracious gesture...
(via cnet)
also...
Mr Bourdain show us how to respond when your nemesis makes a gracious gesture...
suck it Mad Men...
it's official...Kurt Sutter, writer/producer of Sons of Anarchy...just made season 2 my most anticipated way to spend time in front the TVMachine...Henry Rollins is joining the cast...
March 27, 2009
March 26, 2009
March 25, 2009
good news...bad news...
okay...the ten or so readers that are my friends already know this...i am now a member of the unemployed...this is bad...how am i gonna pay for my voracious cultural habits...books, movies, music...the cable box is dead...the emusic subscription is frozen...sigh...
the good news is...the library card is in good standing...netflix is still hanging around...and if you know how to look for it...there's always free music on the internet...
maybe, i can sneak some writing in...what do you think?
speaking of writing...i made exactly $1 profit last year from my writing...and now that you can find my book on Amazon...maybe, just maybe, i'll make enough this year for a six pack of beer...
the good news is...the library card is in good standing...netflix is still hanging around...and if you know how to look for it...there's always free music on the internet...
maybe, i can sneak some writing in...what do you think?
speaking of writing...i made exactly $1 profit last year from my writing...and now that you can find my book on Amazon...maybe, just maybe, i'll make enough this year for a six pack of beer...
March 24, 2009
346...
an original sculpture by Amy Kahn...Untitled...for now...
yes, i'm short 3 photos...i lost my job...pardon me while i prioritize...
March 20, 2009
March 19, 2009
March 18, 2009
March 17, 2009
March 16, 2009
351...
i have a book...it is a collection of crime scene photos from the NYPD 1914-1918...it is titled Evidence...it is an excellent reference...this is the work that i choose...
anyway...i thought i would try to replicate a few of the photos...that turned out to be harder than i thought...here is the inspiration for today's photo...
this is the description of the scene from the book...
"No caption. This location of this scene is not evident, although the size of the table and the impersonal-looking prints may suggest a boardinghouse or a private drinking club, perhaps a blind tiger (a pre-Prohibition illegal bucket shop) of a relatively refined sort. The ceiling is low, which may mean that it is on an attic floor. The victim was well dressed, as his tie and his fancy fur hat indicate. Possibly, given the circumstances, he was a gangster."
here is my interpretation...
i figured i would be up all night making an exact replication...so, i did my version of it...
anyway...i thought i would try to replicate a few of the photos...that turned out to be harder than i thought...here is the inspiration for today's photo...
this is the description of the scene from the book...
"No caption. This location of this scene is not evident, although the size of the table and the impersonal-looking prints may suggest a boardinghouse or a private drinking club, perhaps a blind tiger (a pre-Prohibition illegal bucket shop) of a relatively refined sort. The ceiling is low, which may mean that it is on an attic floor. The victim was well dressed, as his tie and his fancy fur hat indicate. Possibly, given the circumstances, he was a gangster."
here is my interpretation...
i figured i would be up all night making an exact replication...so, i did my version of it...
March 13, 2009
March 12, 2009
March 11, 2009
Movie madness...
while most of the movie going public was watching the Watchmen...
watcha...
ms scribe and I avoided the opening weekend nightmare and saw Coraline instead...ask me one day about the fist fight that broke out during the opening weekend for Return of the King...i'm not fond of 3-D, but even without it, Coraline was the most spectacular thing i've ever seen on a movie screen...this may be the movie that makes me move to blu-ray...catch it on a big screen while you still can...
it helps that its source material is a great piece of storytelling...from Neil Gaiman...i've finally started reading his Sandman epic...it's mesmerizing...
speaking of stuff that i'm cathing up on...i also just started Y: The Last Man...it's a good read...i have to keep reminding myself not to compare the two...YTLM doesn't stand up against Sandman...
other stuff i'm late to the party on...also just started season 1 of The Wire...
and Generation Kill...
so far Mr. Simon's work is equal to the hype...
Meanwhile...here's some stuff i'm looking forward to...
Adventureland...
Big Man Japan...
The Limits of Control...
Observe and Report...
ignore the Paul Blart similarities...this has potential...especially if they get into some of the darker stuff hinted at in the trailer...it reminds me of a book i enjoyed a few years ago called Oscar Caliber Gun...
and, of course, Public Enemies...
Michael Mann's Dillinger movie...the presence of Otis Taylor in the soundtrack is encouraging...let's hope it makes the movie...
watcha...
ms scribe and I avoided the opening weekend nightmare and saw Coraline instead...ask me one day about the fist fight that broke out during the opening weekend for Return of the King...i'm not fond of 3-D, but even without it, Coraline was the most spectacular thing i've ever seen on a movie screen...this may be the movie that makes me move to blu-ray...catch it on a big screen while you still can...
it helps that its source material is a great piece of storytelling...from Neil Gaiman...i've finally started reading his Sandman epic...it's mesmerizing...
speaking of stuff that i'm cathing up on...i also just started Y: The Last Man...it's a good read...i have to keep reminding myself not to compare the two...YTLM doesn't stand up against Sandman...
other stuff i'm late to the party on...also just started season 1 of The Wire...
and Generation Kill...
so far Mr. Simon's work is equal to the hype...
Meanwhile...here's some stuff i'm looking forward to...
Adventureland...
Big Man Japan...
The Limits of Control...
Observe and Report...
ignore the Paul Blart similarities...this has potential...especially if they get into some of the darker stuff hinted at in the trailer...it reminds me of a book i enjoyed a few years ago called Oscar Caliber Gun...
and, of course, Public Enemies...
Michael Mann's Dillinger movie...the presence of Otis Taylor in the soundtrack is encouraging...let's hope it makes the movie...
356...
James P. Johnson
Showing up is not enough.
March 10, 2009
March 9, 2009
March 4, 2009
March 3, 2009
March 2, 2009
365...
you know what this is...365 days...365 photos...hopefully they get better...no restrictions...no rules...no limits...i can promise you that I will keep the self portraits to a minimum...because no one needs to be subjected to that everyday...
March 1, 2009
boys with guitars...and the reasons why...
last month, i found myself trying to explain to some of my friends...people who have known me for nearly 20 years...why i love Johnny Cash...
and the question makes sense...most folks when they first meet me, get the whole New York Hip Hop semi-intellectual vibe that i front...and nothing about my background/history would suggest my fascination with singer-songwriters...especially ones with a country twang...it all starts for me with The Man in Black...
i have to admit that my discovery came late in the game...and by indirect means...as a fan of punk rock who was just beginning to dig into west coast hardcore of the late 80's, by the time i stumbled across Social Distortion, they were moving toward rockabilly and roots rock...and it seemed like their cover of Cash's "Ring of Fire" was everywhere the summer 1990...that's how i remember it, anyway...and i couldn't get enough...
it didn't take long for me to find out that it was Johnny Cash's song...as a matter of fact...it didn't take me long for me to realize that i had listened to Johnny Cash since childhood...i just didn't know it...like most people around my age, my introduction to Mr Cash began with repeated spins of a children's record...especially a track called...The Legend of John Henry's Hammer...i drove my mother crazy listening to that song...over...and over...
Cash's discography is deep...and i am no expert...but if you know nothing of the man's music, i can think of no better place to get started than 16 Biggest Hits...
it covers most of the major hits from the peak of his career...if you don't enjoy this, don't bother going any further...
but, if you like that...i have a fondness for my first Johnny Cash album...Ring of Fire/The Best of Johnny Cash...my first copy was a tape that i wore the hell out of...this one is a little cheesy...especially towards the end...The Rebel, Bonanza, Remember The Alamo might be too much for some folks...
if you want to dig deeper, there's always the classic Folsom Prison/San Quentin live sets...there are so many different variations of these recordings, you could spend a fortune on these alone...for my money, i like the Love, God, Murder box set...my three favorite Johnny Cash are here...Oh, Bury Me Not...While I've Got It On My Mind...and, 'Cause I Love You...
yes, there are the American Recordings...the Rick Rubin produced recordings that basically resurrected Cash's career...it's good music...sometimes though...it feels a little exploitative listening to it...
as for the man's life...the cheating, the drugging, the abusiveness...i'm not too interested...i find his body of work is much more fascinating than his messy human life...yes, i realize that one feeds the other...but all that other stuff is so mundane...it happens everyday...all around the world...most people don't leave much behind except memories...and children...only a small portion get to create a body of work that touches other people's lives...and lasts long beyond they do...
getting to know Johnny Cash's music helped expand my tastes...and made room in my head for other country artists/singer-songwriters...Hank Williams, Tom Waits, Joe Henry, Leonard Cohen, Mark Sandman, Nick Cave, Otis Taylor, Jim White...as i type this, i'm listening to Kris Kristofferson for the first time...
not that there will ever be another Johnny Cash...but there are plenty of musicians who would love to be as beloved as the Man in Black...
M. Ward sounds like he's making his bid...
he's good, but...i won't hold my breath...
if i was a betting man, i'd put my money on this William Elliott Whitmore kid...
and Hank Williams III has a lot more going for him than a pedigree...
and it's not just the boys who can lay claim to Mr Cash's legacy...Lucinda Williams will have something to say about that...
they are an acquired taste...but let's have Those Poor Bastards bring us full circle...
that's just about the nicest song of theirs that you'll ever hear...
and the question makes sense...most folks when they first meet me, get the whole New York Hip Hop semi-intellectual vibe that i front...and nothing about my background/history would suggest my fascination with singer-songwriters...especially ones with a country twang...it all starts for me with The Man in Black...
i have to admit that my discovery came late in the game...and by indirect means...as a fan of punk rock who was just beginning to dig into west coast hardcore of the late 80's, by the time i stumbled across Social Distortion, they were moving toward rockabilly and roots rock...and it seemed like their cover of Cash's "Ring of Fire" was everywhere the summer 1990...that's how i remember it, anyway...and i couldn't get enough...
it didn't take long for me to find out that it was Johnny Cash's song...as a matter of fact...it didn't take me long for me to realize that i had listened to Johnny Cash since childhood...i just didn't know it...like most people around my age, my introduction to Mr Cash began with repeated spins of a children's record...especially a track called...The Legend of John Henry's Hammer...i drove my mother crazy listening to that song...over...and over...
Cash's discography is deep...and i am no expert...but if you know nothing of the man's music, i can think of no better place to get started than 16 Biggest Hits...
it covers most of the major hits from the peak of his career...if you don't enjoy this, don't bother going any further...
but, if you like that...i have a fondness for my first Johnny Cash album...Ring of Fire/The Best of Johnny Cash...my first copy was a tape that i wore the hell out of...this one is a little cheesy...especially towards the end...The Rebel, Bonanza, Remember The Alamo might be too much for some folks...
if you want to dig deeper, there's always the classic Folsom Prison/San Quentin live sets...there are so many different variations of these recordings, you could spend a fortune on these alone...for my money, i like the Love, God, Murder box set...my three favorite Johnny Cash are here...Oh, Bury Me Not...While I've Got It On My Mind...and, 'Cause I Love You...
yes, there are the American Recordings...the Rick Rubin produced recordings that basically resurrected Cash's career...it's good music...sometimes though...it feels a little exploitative listening to it...
as for the man's life...the cheating, the drugging, the abusiveness...i'm not too interested...i find his body of work is much more fascinating than his messy human life...yes, i realize that one feeds the other...but all that other stuff is so mundane...it happens everyday...all around the world...most people don't leave much behind except memories...and children...only a small portion get to create a body of work that touches other people's lives...and lasts long beyond they do...
getting to know Johnny Cash's music helped expand my tastes...and made room in my head for other country artists/singer-songwriters...Hank Williams, Tom Waits, Joe Henry, Leonard Cohen, Mark Sandman, Nick Cave, Otis Taylor, Jim White...as i type this, i'm listening to Kris Kristofferson for the first time...
not that there will ever be another Johnny Cash...but there are plenty of musicians who would love to be as beloved as the Man in Black...
M. Ward sounds like he's making his bid...
he's good, but...i won't hold my breath...
if i was a betting man, i'd put my money on this William Elliott Whitmore kid...
and Hank Williams III has a lot more going for him than a pedigree...
and it's not just the boys who can lay claim to Mr Cash's legacy...Lucinda Williams will have something to say about that...
they are an acquired taste...but let's have Those Poor Bastards bring us full circle...
that's just about the nicest song of theirs that you'll ever hear...
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