L'Chaim! 150 years for Madoff!

Enjoy hell, you bastard.

On vacation.

1. RIP PYT

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2. Join Stop It Now! in preventing the sexual abuse of children by mobilizing adults, families and communities to take actions that protect children before they are harmed. Click here to go to "Stop It Now!"

...we must bring salvation back...

And we must bring redemption back, but we can't pretend that some crimes are able to be forgiven.

Coming Up: La Casa Encendida y Hay Festival Segovia

Sept 2009 I will be in Madrid, Spain, teaching a workshop at La Casa Encendida.

About La Casa Encendida:

La Casa Encendida is an open and dynamic social and cultural centre of the Obra Social Caja Madrid (Madrid Savings Bank Friendly Society), where you can find anything from the most avant-garde art and theatre to courses and workshops on subjects like the environment or solidarity. The cultural programme offers dramatic arts, cinema, exhibitions and other displays of contemporary artistic creation.

From its beginnings, La Casa Encendida has supported young artists in developing their initiatives with programmes such as ’Emergencies’, ’At Home’ and ’Artists in Residence’.

Additionally, La Casa Encendida has a complete resource centre (library, media library, news archive and radio, photographic and multimedia laboratory) which is open to all.



Here's a synopsis of the workshop that I'll be conducting...



"This curatorial and exhibition production workshop will culminate with the participants producing an exhibition of the artist Zoe Strauss’s photographs, to be opened on September 19th, 2009. Ms. Strauss will be showing a digital slide projection at La Casa Encendida and participants will help create a site-specific exhibition outside of the gallery space by engaging with neighbors in the area surrounding the art space. Storefronts, public and private spaces, outdoor projections, a walking tour of photos...everything is up for consideration as a potential exhibition space. Participants will also be making their own photos of the neighborhood as part of the workshop."


And then Ignacio Andreu and I will be giving a talk at the Hay Festival in Segovia. The Hay Festival Segovia is happening September 24–27 2009.


With tremendous thanks to Ignacio Andreu for the invite and his interest in my work and tremendous thanks to Dana Eisfeld for his incredible organizational help.

and all at Ivory Press and C Photo.

Now, these 2 photos... these 2 photos are great. Neither has been included in I-95 and neither was able to find it's place in America, but I love them.

The vertical shot above was in contention to replace the I-95 third aisle staple "Coffee Spill Prevention Point" and still might find it's way into 2010.



This year I replaced "Coffee Spill Prevention Point" with "light switch and thermostat" because I wanted implication of imbalance in addition to a human mark in that moment. Balance played a much bigger role than usual in this 2009's show.



The choice of "light switch and thermostat" probably also came from the having worked with that image so much when editing America. I was very, VERY, reluctant to pull out "Coffee Spill Prevention Point" but I think I made the right choice for this year.

or

or


I think it's the bottom one.

RIP Kodachrome

Bobby Jean

The song Bobby Jean, from Born in The U.S.A., is a staple of Bruce Springsteen's live shows. Now, many of the completely insane Bruce Springsteen fans have complained that they'd like a different song in place of Bobby Jean... it's not one of his best, he plays it too often, blah, blah, blah. Bruce Springsteen obviously thinks it's important to include in concert and he know what's best to structure his live performances.


The photo above, Pilgrims, is akin to the Bobby Jean selection in a live set list. I love Pilgrims and think it's important and don't really care if it's not one my strongest photos or that others wish there was something else in it's place... don't be fooled, I'm not so mental that I think that anyone would think, "I wish a different photo was included in this spot." I mean if someone was given the curatorial choice between Pilgrims and a number of my other photos, Pilgrims would lose out a lot. I know why it's there and I'm ok with anyone questioning it.

I think this photo will be making it in to 2010.

Anchorage Earthquake

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Southcentral Alaska at 11:28 a.m. today, according to the Alaska Earthquake Information Center. The epicenter was 33 miles southwest of Talkeetna.

In planning out 2010, I think that I'll be ending this blog in November 2010, about 6 months after the end of I-95. I'll go for a firm date, I like the lock down.

It's possible I might do something more structured and not as "train of thought" as this blog is, or I might continue it in a different format or I might just end it altogether. I think the most likely scenario is that I'll have some kind of interweb project, but not one that details so much of the minutia of my life.

Holy Trinity of Days: Happy Birthday Ilene Baker, June 19. Happy Birthday Savannah Roberts, June 20. Happy Summer Solstice, June 21.

These days should be regarded as holy. There's no coincidence here as we are led into summer via the birthdays of my mother and sister. Mom, I love you! Nannie, I love you! Happy Summer.

Amy Stein's 'Domesticated' on NPR

Click above to check it out. Yes to Amy Stein!

Camp Straussundbloom Orientation

Click above to follow the adventures about Camp Straussundbloom.

rip Gary Papa

Craigslist Casual Encounters Ad...

"If you're a straight Democrat... - m4m - 58 (NE Philly near Frankford and Academy)"
Date: 2009-06-20, 12:01AM EDT


...you might enjoy making this old, white Republican sissy boi and 2x Bush voter blow you. I deserve the humiliation, and you deserve the payback for the last 8 years. My mouth and face are available to all Dem cummers!

You can be any age over 18, any race, good hygiene is a must, and you need to have a place to use because I can not host. It would be a great way for you to celebrate Barak Obama's victory, and payback a strictly Republican voter!

I'm a MWM, 5'5", 14O lbs, shaved head, glasses, plain looks, disease and drug free, careful and discreet. I live in NE Philly and can meet in that area any night after 9pm-10pm, Saturday mornings and afternoons, and Sunday afternoons. I DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO USE.

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This is verbatim.

I was excited when I saw the top configuration, but neither of these are good.

Not sure if you knew this, but I love Tim Gunn.

Earlier this week, I was in the street by my house talking to Courtney (pictured below) and this old guy drives up, rolls down the window and says, "What do you call a cow with no legs?" Courtney and I were a little confused and then he yells, "ground beef!" and we all crack up and then he just drives away down Dickinson St. and Courtney and I say goodbye and head to work.

Our exterminator has been fined for keeping an alligator in his basement. As we were watching Action News last night, Mike "The Bugman" busted onto the screen saying that his neighbors knew he had an alligator in the basement. Mike's house is only a few blocks from us... he lives on the street right across from the Acme.

There's so, so much I could say about our exterminator but this clip really says a lot. I'll just list a number of words and phrases and you can make your own narrative: ecstasy, dui golf cart, grandmother drinking wine, special K, "he says he's straight, but we still had sex."

"This is no croc!"

Two Ted Talks

Ex-Moonie Diane Benscoter on how cults think.. I am very interested in how she describes her involvement in a cult as a "viral memetic infection." And I can't agree any more on how "easy (answers) ideas to complex questions are very appealing"

There are many theories that use "virus" as a model to describe urban violence, particularly urban homicide, and I really think that's a viable model: the spread of what becomes reality and "fact" coming from a constructed situation.


And there are plenty of cults that can be easily used as examples as to how a sort of confined, cyclical thinking alters one's idea of what is "real"... Scientology, Jonestown, Unification Church aka Moonies, Heaven's Gate, Manson Family, Aum Shinrikyo... but I'm interested in how this kind of thinking impacts folks in much less sever circumstances


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Mae Jamison is 100% percent correct regarding the connection between science and arts.

Mae Jemison is an astronaut, a doctor, an art collector, a dancer ... Telling stories from her own education and from her time in space, she calls on educators to teach both the arts and sciences, both intuition and logic, as one -- to create bold thinkers.

America Girl
by Tom Petty

Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, and if she had to die
Tryin she had one little promise
She was gonna keep

Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl

It was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
She could the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashin' on the beach
And for one desperate moment there

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"He crept back in her memory
God, its so painful"




"Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach"


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Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy, baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl


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For the last 5 years, I have used "American Girl" as the song to help with ordering section two of the complete slideshows and ordering the second aisle of I-95. Two photos that have stayed in the slideshow from the very first incarnation are "Woman Walking at Berks" and "We Love Centralia." They are placed at lyrics that help me get at gender ambiguity, longing, and, most important, the connection between body and landscape and a connection of self to place. And the photos also bounce off each other, echoing a display of resilience and bravado regarding how we make do with limited choices presented to us. The visual connection is obvious, the hearts, but these two must go together because of the story of Centralia, PA. It doesn't make any difference to me if people know about Centralia, it's just important to me in terms of the placement. I was in Centralia recently... still burning.


I heard "America Girl" while I was driving by the Berks El stop this week, which is what started my thought process about these two photos. Every time I hear "American Girl" I have a Pavlovian response and I immediately start working on the sequencing of photos in the second section in my head. Son of a bitch! I'll never have that song back again! But it's worth the sacrifice of tying it so closely to work, those two photos are in it to win in.

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Section 2 Works-in-Progress slideshow

Camp StraussundBloom Informercial by Maggie Hamilton, Katie Hamilton and Kellie Hamilton.

Unfortunately I'm unable to make it up to the SVA Thesis show tonight but my heartiest congratulations to


Jacqueline Bates
Jessica Bruah
Sean Hanratty
Johanna Heldebro
Scott Houston
Barbara Kalina
Andrew Lucas
David Rapoport
Annick Rosenfield
and
Craig Stokle

Last New Bio Photo

Call For Entries: Change, Not Charity: Justice Behind the Lens

For the Bread and Roses annual Tribute to Change event, they are curating a collection of photographs that document communities coming together to build power and self-determination, empowerment, and working for social change. The photos chosen will be exhibited alongside the work of renowned documentary photographer Harvey Finkle who has produced a substantial body of work concerned with social, political and cultural issues. The exhibit will take place at the National Constitution Center on Thursday, October 15, 2009.


I am a friend and a fan of Harvey Finkle, and I'm proud to be one of 4 jurors for this exhibition.


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Photo by Harvey Finkle

The photo above shows a "Granny Against the War" attempting to enlist in the army, prior to being arrested for trespassing. The Grannies were subsequently found innocent.

From Monkey Business

Other new bio photo
photo by Charday Laverty

Alaska. I love you.

Hidden City Philadelphia

Don't miss it!


"Hidden City unique arts festival that brings Philadelphia’s best unknown historical and architectural landmarks back to life through original works of art runs May 30 through June 28, 2009.

There are many historical and architectural landmarks around Philadelphia that at one time were all important to the city’s neighborhoods, but their significance – and in some cases their existence – has been forgotten over the years, making them hidden to the people who walk, run, or drive by them every day. Performing and visual artists have created dance, music, sculpture, video, print, and mixed media pieces inspired by the history and architecture of their selected sites to draw attention back to the important people and places forming Philadelphia."

Ahmadinejad "Re-Elected"

Iran 2009


Photo by Olivier Laban-Mattei/Agence France-Presse

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USA 2000


George Bush 2000 Coup Basic Info

The 3 kisses from America.

I saw Antoinette today and she asked me how things were with my going to Spain and then she told me a story about how someone went to Spain and they brought home "Flamenco boy and girl figurines," she still has them upstairs, and that you could see the testicles through the pants on the male flamenco dancer... "Hmm-hmm said, 'You can see his balls! You know what that means? You're gonna get pregnant!' and then wasn't I pregnant with Donna a month later."

Plus, pick her up 2 loaves of lo-carb bread at Trader Joes.

Love you, Conti.

A Plea to the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Please bring back an extensive postcard selection of pieces in the PMA Collection. For both kids and adults it's so very, very important to chose the postcards yourself and be able to take home a representation of something you saw the day of your visit. I'm not kidding, I think it's really important.



I have a long thing I'm writing about the multitude of lenticular pieces for sale with the Cezanne show... which was fantastic, by the way. I am for them as a way of breaking with of the sanctity of reproduced images. More later. Meanwhile, get the postcards back.

World Science Festival- June 10-14, 2009, NYC

The World Science Festival's mission is to cultivate and sustain a general public informed by the content of science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.

Today was mostly sold out when I took a look at programing, but there are a number of free events on the 14th.

Photo by Alex Brandon