Am I crazy or shouldn't a person operating on less than 4 hours of sleep be tired at 6am? Am I crazy or were we not taught that you need at least 8 hours of sleep?

 

Am I crazy? Doesn't a person need to eat more than one meal a day? Am I crazy or were we not taught that you should have 3 square meals a day?

 

Am I crazy because I haven't been stressed out about not having money? Am I crazy because part of me is glad that taxes taken from my biweekly earnings aren't being used to build more bombs aiming for colladeral damage?

 

Am I crazy for secretly wanting Bush to win? Am I crazy for not wanting people to fall asleep under Kerry?

 

If you can tell me the answers to these questions-----Are you crazy for knowing  them?

 

Congrats to Jerry for giving a great lecture and presentation yesterday! There was a really nice turnout despite the rain. I've been working with him over the past month on this and every time he speaks, I learn something new, not just about 3D, but about life. Life as a means to an end not as a way to make ends meet. Truly an amazing artist and person.

 

After the lecture, a group of us artists( like how i said that?) met up at a Thai Seafood resturant. Many different mediums were being discussed at the table. Dance, film, painting, photography, conceptual art, just so much! I was sitting there soaking it all in and thinking that this is what I was missing in california. The synergy between non-prentious creative people who care about more than just their projects.

 

One of those people is a filmaker from Australia, Nicole Ma. Her latest project is a documentary-Dances of Ecstasy, that explores how different communities around the world connect with a spiritual dimension through dance and rhythm. Its coming to NY on June 30th and in SF on July 9th. More info on the website above.

 

My morning started off with the arrival of my friend Martin. I tease him a lot and call him the 'fifth' beatle because he almost made the drive with me across country. He decided not to and I wonder if things would have turned out the same for me?

 

I don't think so. Consider this. Setting out on my own not knowing a soul, made me dependant on the universe and more specifically on people that I met along the way. Making a parallel journey at the same space and time under these conditions requires thinking about the person traveling next to you. It requires heavy usage of brain RAM- resources reserved for running new programs (life experiences) in new places. The end result probably being a stunted grow or slower rate of adjustment.

 

My first reaction to his decision of not drive with me, was one of disappointment. Right now, I feel like thanking him for realizing how important is was for me to make the leap alone. Although he wasn't with me alternating driving routines in Nevada, he had the foresight to not alter the course I am currently headed down.

 

For those of you expecting to read about my trip to the Hip Hop Political Convention, let me apologize right now;  I didn't go. You can read about it here if you like. The ideas that I have on Hip Hop & politics are still alive and weren't hinging on this convention. However, the NYPD found the people responsible for making me miss the event (in the picture above)- Rhona and May.

 

I was at home minding my own business, when I get an email from Rhona saying that she's gonna be in town for one day, before leaving the country for good next month. Faced with such a finalistic scenario, the convention got axed.

 

I know Rhona from the dark days of working at the Marriott in New Orleans. It was truly a trying and depressing time in my life. I'd just graduated from college and couldn't find any decent paying job with my degree. I got a position working there as an audio/visual tech setting up meeting rooms with the necessary hardware. As if going through a difficult break-up with my ex wasn't enough, my self-esteem sunk even lower after learning that the job required wearing a Red sport coat. Can you imagine having to match a tie with a Red sports coat 5 days a week? Also during this time period I had dreads and it just was too much going on with me. Fast Forward.

 

Rhona's first response after seeing me was 'You cut your hair! Why'd you cut your hair I liked it!' Here's an example of the confines of time & space. This was the first time we've seen each other in 3 years and her image of me is frozen in her memory banks. Melting the ice and remerging as a short haired, no facial hair wearing, confident cheeseball ( I threw that in there to balance out all the self-flattery), was an unexpected surprise, no doubt.

 

Where I am going with all of this information? I'm not sure but this is turning into a much longer log than intended. Wait I forgot to talk about May! May is Rhona's friend who came up here with her. She wants to move to San Francisco soon. Ok that's all I know about her. The wrap it up light is flashing now so if you can make any sense out of what I just wrote, God bless you.

 

Drum & Bass super producer & composer, Synapz ( aka Martin), made his  New York City debut today at Open Air. Every Sunday they host a gathering called Share which is all about multi-media sound & video collaborations. Attendees hook-up their laptops, keyboards, 8 tracks, or whatever and its all meshed together as an organic futuristic gumbo.

 

As you walk into the space, you first encounter a room that would otherwise be empty if not for the bar on your right. When you enter the next room, on either side are video 5-6 video panels lining the walls. Underneath the panels there's a sitting area and ports for connecting equipment. Synapz took a seat, connected the laptop and the rest is history. No he didn't get a major label distribution deal, but he did get some good feedback from other musicians and visual artists.

 

One of these people is a multi-medium artist named Dan<website>. Very cool cat that was VJing to the beats that Martin spun. There is a way to listen to the session from the Share website, but I don't know what the deal is with that. I'm sure we'll be there next Sunday for Round 2 so come out if you can or maybe listen online.

 

Wahab arrived today bringing light to a somewhat difficult day for me. During his visit I'm sure I'll tell you more about his comics and paintings, but there is a much bigger story present in is life right now. His parents arranged for him to marry a girl he never met before, who's currently living in Yemen.

 

Ultimately the final decision will rest on his shoulders if he will go through with it, but he's keeping an open mind. 5 days after leaving New York, he's off to Yemen to get to know her. What a romantic scenario! Traveling across oceans to meet the possible love of your life. Great stuff!

 

In the meantime, I'm going to get him in as much trouble as possible while he's here.

 

We were watching one of Martin's favorite shows, Who wants to be a Millionaire, when we saw that this week is walk up audition week. The daydreaming began soon after and ended up with us signing up for an audition on June 29th or June 30th as an alternate date. The question now is who wants to be a Millionaire's friend?

 

Just in case that doesn't work out, I have a job interview tomorrow. It's the one that's part assistant camera, part photoshop/illustrator magician and the other parts are unknown to me, but I'll find out soon.

 

I gave Wahab a tour of Williamsburg last night. We encountered a bunch of crazy artists skateboarding through the streets falling and crashing into things at 2am. Perfect right? A pleasant surprise was that Nerissa and Earl were in the group so Wahab got a chance to meet them. We all migrated to the Blu Lounge for a night of Karaoke and firm handshakes. Don't ask.