time+space

this is what happens with a nearly limitless amount of both in the hands of these guys.
and it's nice to know that someone out there is still working on these ideas. thank you, scientists.

i am

sometimes i need the reminder and it couldn't come from a better source.

nolapdbs : an update

nearly 2months after receiving the bs ticket (a warrant is suppose to go out after 1month) and calling nola traffic court for my ticket to post dayaftereveryotherday only to hear the deflating automated service tell me once again that the ticket wasn't in the system and to call back or use '0' to speak with a representative (which i always did); i finally received a tip from one such representative (who i must say were all pleasant each time i spoke with them and were generally always trying to be helpful). the tip; a new # which led me to the clerk's office and a woman who couldn't believe the ticket was issued 2months prior and not yet in their system. fax you a copy of the ticket? surely - against my initial instinct, thinking that if they had lost the ticket i'd be giving it right back to them. a quick phone call minutes later from the voice i'd just left with my faxed ticket; "mr.fool, the officer has been contacted and is on his way in with his books now," she huffed seemingly very perturbed. "the date to deal with your ticket has been extended through december. you'll still need to contact the ticket office to know when your ticket actually gets into our system." i sigh.... "then you can begin payment or get a court date." i sigh again....

"great! because i intend on contesting!"

"okay, well if you keep calling and it still doesn't show up, you call me back."

thanks miss. at least i don't have to worry about the warrant... right?

so i hadn't called back about the ticket. instead i'd just planned to make my way to the courthouse some afternoon in late november to contest for a court date. 

5days ago a # i don't recognise hums my phone and i leave to go to voice mail as i do all unknowns. the same # hums again and this time leaves word.

i check.

i have 1 unheard message. first message... a different voice calling from the clerk's office; "mr.fool, i wanted to let you know that your traffic ticket "j7####6" has been voided. you will not have to pay this ticket. missoriginalclerk'sofficeassistant wanted me to call and let you know. i'll be sending a letter to your address informing you of the same. no need to call back. thank you."
yesterday the letter she spoke of was waiting inside on the hardwood when i returned from work.
i assume one of three scenerios. one; that my nagging up the chain led to my good fortune. two; perhaps i flagged an officers lackluster job performance and as a result (or thank you) the clerk's office let me off the hook at a time when 3nopd officers have already made the news for the worst reasons. three; maybe my words to the ticketing officer actually reached him on the day of and he found it within him to void the ticket before turning in his books.
my instinct leans furthest toward one but regardless the reason; i'm pleased and thankful.
drive good.

in the rain : acl : queens of the stone age

i sat by the ocean and drank a potion, baby to erase you.

i had lost my friends and pushed forward to stand alone in the crowd 10feet back from center stage. friend1 went to mingle with other music. friend2's energy radiated from further forward to my right, but couldn't be seen, only felt. the sun had completely hidden itself just in time for the stage lights+effects to matter. the darkness meant the band could enter the stage under haze and minimum visibility. lights slowly faded in from behind the drum kit to reveal silhouettes and then proceeded to stream out over the excited crowd. josh raises his guitar pick to the crowd. screams of anticipation. he drops the pick which falls to strike the first note of you think i ain't worth a dollar, but i feel like a millionaire in perfect unison with the fall of the first cool drop of rain on my hand; it's presence infinitely amplified by breaking what had otherwise been a very dry hot day; minus my consumption of costa rican imperial lager+h20. each note seemed to bring with it an extra raindrop until the exponential additions of rain broke into down pour right at the start of track2; no one knows where josh felt prompted to cheer the crowd. "we're here now, don't leave me!" he screamed between verses... no one was going anywhere.
green+yellow flashed in time beautifying the shower. by track4 the energy was lifted to baptismal levels; the rain+sound serving as a cleansing of soul+mind+body. i focused internally a moment, tasting the water on my lips and feeling the kick+bass in my heart. i pulled my heart from my chest and washed it in the energy. i placed it back in it's vacancy and felt restored+rejuvenated+realive.
reunited with friend1, i found myself fulfilled, content, at peace, joyful.
walk good.

alan lomax

alan lomax was one of the greatest collectors and documenters of folk culture in the world. for the majority of his life he traveled the planet recording the local music and interviewing the local natives. those 17,000+ recordings have finally been digitised, more than a decade after his death, and absorbed by the united states library of congress and are now readily available online at the association of cultural equity. just start at the beginning. it means you get to start with the calypso anyway.
walk good.

ps. this here sidebar worthy.

brain games

i'm a science geek, but you already knew that. i always say, even though it's not always true, that my favourite sciences are astronomy and cognitive sciences (eg: neurology) likely because we know so little about each. this post is news about the latter.
two american researchers working at the university of washington have successfully conducted the first human brain to brain transmission (liking cbc news these days). previously successful with rats, these too scientists sat at opposite sides of the university's campus and using the internet, the sender controlled the receiver's hand. swim caps. diodes. video games. yet another instance of the future made present; of science fiction made reality. it's amazing and terrifying as the future tends to be.
in yesterday's future we can implant jaws that were printed in 3-d, grow ears+noses from stem cells, and now brains too. yep, we grow brains. these miniature brains will only grow so large with the absence of blood+oxygen. still, scientists believe these brains may give vast insight into rare diseases and better explain how new drugs affect the brain. again with the amazing and slightly terrifying; the freaky but incredible.
adding these two interesting articles a day later.
insomniacs lose focus. i've experienced that though must say when my brain keeps me up in the wee hours i always seem to be focused+driven.
poverty affects mental ability, influences critical thinking and decision making.

nolapdbs

friday morning i headed to work; magazine street becomes camp and with the park on the left and the international school of louisiana on the right i drove the left lane at the requested 20milesperhour with the rest of the commuters motoring to work. well beyond school grounds (100meters+) a sudden smash of brakes and warning red from the suv in front of me had me smashing mine and rather than jam them to a full stop inches from her tailpipe i quick check the right lane, make lane change and proceed to gather speed as to not slow that lane too. just as i was about to cross melpomene, a cop who was already busy writing up another motorist looks up from his ticket pad and jumps out from in front of his cruiser and nearly into the path of my vehicle, banging on the side+trunk; evidently not pleased with his morning or my ability to transport myself about town.
i thought briefly about continuing about my trip to work (and probably should have) but thought better of it knowing that driving off would certainly bring penalty once he checked the cruisers on-board-camera for my plate#, so i obliged the officer and spun my car around to sit on the corner of melpomene+camp. it was about 8:45a. the officer (i won't name him now, but perhaps after future installments to this story) was curt to say the least. "license, registration, proof of insurance." i obliged. "i'll be back," off to his cruiser to check me for warrants. i have none. he returned to my car window with my information and then very plainly informed me that i was driving 30mph in a 20mph school zone, that i was following too closely to the car in front of me and that i failed to signal. he handed me a citation for all three 'violations.'
"sir," i tried to be polite, "you were just writing a ticket. you didn't see all that. the car in front of me smashed their brakes, of course i was close. i did signal. and you certainly didn't clock me from outside your cruiser."
"sign here. you can protest it with the court if you like."
i do like. and i fully intend to. dude shit on my friday morning simply to fill an end of the month citation quota he hadn't yet reached. traffic cops, i've been told, have to meet #s like any other form of solicitation. as he began to walk away from me i said "excuse me sir, you give no favor or grace for the fact that i simply could have just kept driving? i wouldn't had stopped had you not got my attention by banging on my car."
"i didn't bang on your car," he said anxiously and then walked away.
i felt like telling him to get laid.
added 9.43p: initial research+calculations project approximately a $857 fine. 

project be

be.

monday evening i took the opportunity to venture out to the florida housing development deep in the recesses of the 9th ward; abandoned since hurricane katrina unleased her wrath back in 2005. demolition is set to begin soon to make way for new, but before they're gone local artist brandan 'bmike' odums has taken the opportunity to turn many of these empty galleries into project be; a collection of graffiti paying tribute to leaders+motivators+creators, complete with uplifting quote+verse. his work has inspired other artists to join in the creation and this old community suddenly has the new life as a museum of very modern art.

there is no telling when the demolition will begin but in the meanwhile the walls inside this fenced in community are pulsing with +vibes, powerful art, and the words of common. 

during the visit i met several good souls braving the broken glass+crumbling steps to either create or admire but most importantly commune with each other and i realised at a point that the art had made this abandoned housing development a safe place to share+express ideas; it is safe place to be.
below are some of my photos from the day. you can find more by following the project be link above.
 

"graffiti is like tattoos for buildings."
walk good.
ps. some friends+i are talking to go back to create own. if do, more sooncome.

flying lotus videos

flying lotus has this cool sound, but his videos are visually stunning. check this one and then a few others.


putty boy strut.

tiny tortures.

and this short clip about flying lotus' cosmogramma album appeals to me greatly.

years since birth

people have always worried about my earthly age more than i have. for many years when questioned i'd have to figure the math before answering. i seem to have more of a handle on that these days if for no other reason than to avoid a dumbfounded look when i can't answer immediately. as a child i was allowed 3birthday parties at 5, at 10, and at 15years old. i waived the last one; by then celebrating seemed wasteful.
my theory has always been that each day your a year older than you were a year ago so celebrate everyday, not one day.
something is changing though. i'm half way through 30 suddenly and feel as though i'm only now awakening. awakening isn't really the right word. it's a safe word i use to keep from stating the reality. the reality is that i'm only just now beginning to chase my dreams, which isn't quite the truth either. i suppose the truth is that i'm only just now beginning to believe in myself; in my ability to succeed at more than the mundane. i'm only, at 30.5years old, just finding out that what i have to share with the world is real+beautiful+brilliant. my ideas, my art, my effort isn't for not. it matters. but most of all it can make a difference. it can better the world around me.
you see, like many people, i was trained not to chase my dreams but to chase a living. to work toward satisfactory. to survive. a mediocre job and roof overhead was suppose to be enough. and i'm great at that... the surviving part. if everything in this world goes to shit, look for me... i'll be the one thriving through it all; surviving. though being satisfactory and surviving the way i do isn't enough. i'm not accomplishing nearly what i'm capable of.
what i have inside of me can be a light of good+worth+wonder. i can change norms with my ideas. i can expand minds. i can leave a mark. as a friend so wonderfully put just recently, it's about time i become the eye of the storm. i spinning into it just now... hold on. these winds are gonna get strong.
spin strong.

analog facebook

introducing analog facebook:
simply fill a 3-ring binder with any type of paper, pick up a polaroid camera (yes, they still make the film) and the adhesive of your choice. now, when you meet new people you can invite them to be your friend without having to wait for an acceptance. a friendly handshake will confirm your bond. if they accept your verbal friend invite snap their photo with your camera, then go all andre3000 on it. in the meanwhile invite your new friend to enter his/her name and mailing address (the minimum info required) and then all additional information on one of the sheets of paper in your binder. be sure to recommend their birth date, their education+employment history, their likes in music, movies, books, activities, other... and then finally insert the photo you took of them in the top left corner. boom! analog facebook friend acquired! well... don't just sit there! post something clever on their analog facebook wall or at least like their photo by taking a photo of your own thumb and attach it below their profile pic. now, simply do this with every single person you meet in the real world and watch your analog facebook friends pile up! it won't be long before you have official analog facebook binder bags filled with official analog facebook 3-ring binders; the truly popular will need our official analog facebook binder wagon, so they can keep all their analog facebook friends close. when you bump into your analog facebook friends be sure to have them update their page and let them your comments on their previous statuses while you, of course, update your page in their analog facebook.
need to send your new friend a message... not to worry, their analog facebook page has their mailing address. a quick handwritten message, an envelope and a stamp and you'll be messaging your friend in 3-5days... or weeks.
what more could you ask for? hurry, start analog facebooking now! it's trending...

genius greenious

hadda post before i lost it...
portable solar energy. they bes' run this shit across the globe right quick. too smart.

please welcome to the stage... ghostface killah (and other musical awareness updates)

ghostface rocks a mic. i've literally loved everything the man has done. he can do it all, including his new stage show that accompanies his new album, twelve reasons to die; a collaboration with american composer adrian younge. the album is nice and deserves a proper listen. i'd see the show if it came this way.

tyler, the creator is the next big ting in hiphop. he's controversial. he's talented. he speaks freely. people hate him and he's cool with that. he's been called a satanist after his album goblin which i can't speak to since i haven't heard it; having only caught up with the scene since his latest record, wolf, drop. one listen through drop and you'll feel the same way. he's on the come up. listen close to track 6, answer, where he imagines a phone call with his father.

the beatles have a new album! okay, they don't have a new album but if the beatles of the late 60's were producing music today it would sound like tame impala. their latest release lonerism is excellent. i doh know what else to say but check it.

scientifically accurate spiderman and scientifically accurate ninja turtles. stumbled upon these while pulling youtube music links. ridiculous.

boy did we get lucky. new daft punk is out. pharrell produced it. nuff said. (video is not surprisingly pretty weird)

i doh needa link anyting i doh think, but major lazer's free the universe is bes' as expected. it has barely left my ears since it drop. wind up
anyway>
there's so much more: flaming lips, alt-j, jt, kid cudi... i could go on. like i said, i'ma hafta send you more music sooner or later.

i'll leave you with something from local nola. a project called bloody sunday sessions where a film crew and band mount up onto a horse drawn carriage that parades around the french quarter while the music happens. the result is pretty awesome. go to the sessions tab and check out treme brass and/or edward sharpe. good stuff.

fete on. walk good.

world book night #2

happy world book night #2, sweet trini!
this year's book to was bradbury's fahrenheit 451. as a child this was one book that made me love to read and immediately think of all literature as terribly important. to potentially gift a similar experience to another is an honour.
20copies boxed up. passed by the secondary school too late to dish 'em out before school bell ring but found 3young boys, aiden, andre+alex (ages 8,9+10) waiting for the public bus to head to their primary school. i approached and offered them each a copy. it went down like this:
"hey, fellas. how are ya'll? you wanna good book?" books already in hand.
all 3boys replied "yeah!" with a moderate amount of excitement. i hand them the book.
"what's is it?"
"fahrenheit 451. do you know why it's called that?"
"no." "nope." alex stays quiet.
"because that's the temperature at which paper burns."
"oh?" confused looks. "so why is called that?"
"it's sci-fi." all their faces light up.
"i love science." says aiden. "i read all kind of science and fantasy fiction." says andre, looking like a young malcolm x. alex still a bit skeptical says "so what's it about?"
"it's about a future based not too far from our own where literature has been outlawed and books are now destroyed instead of created. the firemen who used to save lives and put out fires..."
"start them!" andre proclaims. "he burns their homes and everything, doesn't he? cool!"
"that's right!" i state, immediately impressed and a bit stunned by his answer.
andre, a little proud of himself, asks "are you gonna come back around?"
"well, i hope so. we'll see each other again someday, i'm sure."
they all thanked me enthusiastically and i headed into the job. those were the best 3books i gave away all day.
17copies left... a work day later, i pass by the students of the secondary school still awaiting parent-pickups and invite 'em to take a copy of bradbury's novel. they were gone in less than 5minutes. most of the students were absolutely interested and appreciative for the free book though not one questioned why i was able to give them away for free (i told them anyway) and only 1 turned it down.
the experience of giving to kids was bes'. they were interested+excited+grateful to be given something for nothing. some were even thrilled it was a book. at least 2youths told me they've "always wanted to read this." i hoping them 2 and at least one other read the damn thing, or they at least give it to someone who wanna.
the experience was in stark contrast to last year where i hadda plead with other grown adults to even gimme time a day before they eventually accepted a free book. most figure there hadda be some catch... "what kinda ting you selling attitude?"
seems as we age we learn to expect that nothing free, that there always a hidden agenda, that we, by nature, are selfish beings and act accordingly. and this by all practical reasoning and in my experience is pretty much true. the human condition so poor that we find ourselves flabbergasted when someone truly do for no other reason but to do good. i often feel ashamed+sickened by that condition; like a disease we damned to pass to the next generation. as though there is no hope for them. they doomed to retreat to selfishness. there will be no enlightenment, no advancement, no renaissance. human beings will just continue to slip further into ourselves. but world book night flips that on it's head. publishers+libraries+bookstores+givers coming together for the joy of sharing literature with the masses; no selfish tendencies, no payment, no reason but a pure one; giving art. alex+andre+aiden made my art giving experience one i'll remember. and they remind me to hope for the future. minds like theirs can make the difference.
"always do right. this will gratify some people and astonish the rest." - mark twain.

the event

i know i said less videos, more content, but you love these shorts as much as i do. this one is wow. walk good.

all videos these days. more sooncome. walk good.