tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335932012024-03-14T00:09:20.356-04:00Love Minus ZeroSeize the day and then somemickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.comBlogger703125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-47449773655729799822017-08-16T14:29:00.000-04:002017-08-16T14:29:55.329-04:00Not in My NameOf course, right after that last post, he went right back on the air and fulfilled all our lowest expectations. Supposedly speaking for America. <br />
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Nope. Not in my name. <br />
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But some 30% of the population still seems to think this is all a-ok?<br />
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I guess that isn't (or shouldn't be) as much of a surprise as people are reacting like it is, because it's been part of the program all along. Not the "line 'em up and shoot 'em" part, but the "everybody just keep feeding all the wealth and power this way and no one gets hurt" part. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/16/opinion/republicans-president-donald-trump.html">This piece by Lindy West in the Times</a> does a good job of calling it out to the Republicans who are responding, rightly, if only out of self-interest, to denounce the words of a president gone off the rails:<br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">It is easy to denounce Nazis. Republican lawmakers, if you truly repudiate this march and this violence, then repudiate voter-ID laws. Repudiate gerrymandering. Repudiate police brutality. Repudiate mass incarceration and private prisons. Repudiate the war on drugs. Repudiate the fact that black Americans have still not been compensated for the unpaid forced labor that was foundational to white financial stability. Repudiate gun control obstructionism. Repudiate the Muslim ban. Repudiate the wall. Repudiate anti-abortion legislation. Repudiate abstinence-only education. Repudiate environmental deregulation. Repudiate birtherism. Repudiate homophobia and transphobia. Repudiate your own health care bill, which would have led to the deaths of thousands more people than a Dodge Challenger driven into a crowd. Repudiate your president.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone else, wherever you are on the spectrum of humanity, this is a good moment for us to confront our own assumptions and biases, figure out what we need to work on to change and the best ways to do it. This is hard work, but it’s worth doing. Oh, and it goes on forever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One more quote – you’ve probably seen this one, but it bears repeating. It's </span>Angela Davis, from a talk in Carbondale, IL in 2014.<br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">And you have to do it all the time.</span><span style="color: #c27ba0;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Scott Olson</td></tr>
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-56347628677937281722017-08-15T18:24:00.002-04:002017-08-16T10:14:54.438-04:00Fighting Mass IncarcerationSo this weekend sucked something fierce. Literal Nazis figuratively trolling the nation, at the cost of at least three lives and putting at risk whatever dignity America has left. Taking ideals of justice and equality and pissing on them in the glow of burning crosses and tiki torches picked up in the garden supply department on their way to the white hood convention.<br />
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Not that anyone paying attention has a tremendous amount of faith left in the ‘justice’ system in this great land of ours.<br />
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My response [other than to tumble in to the Fbook rabbit hole for a minute and do some howling at the TV and at the walls of the apartment] was to go to <a href="https://www.secretprojectrobot.org/">Secret Project Robot</a> on Saturday afternoon-into-evening for their benefit for <a href="https://www.justleadershipusa.org/">JustLeadershipUSA</a> under the name “Music Against Mass Incarceration.”<br />
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Amazing set from Sunwatchers
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Incredible performance from Brandon Lopez Trio (Nate Wooley on trumpet, Gerald Cleaver percussion)<br />
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Chris Forsythe & Solar Motel Band<br />
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You don't need me to rattle off the stats - the prison system is out of control and in danger of spiraling even worse; it targets the poor and people of color, arguably by design. That day, rather than get sucked in and take the bait of the King of the Trolls and his Address to the Nation - absolutely enraging though it was - I showed up, paid my admission, and engaged with some actual, living, positive creation. For what it's worth, I recommend it.</div>
mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-39237863836803436422017-07-27T12:33:00.000-04:002017-07-27T12:33:12.930-04:00Oh, Canada<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
We went to Toronto for the first time on Canada Day Weekend (which intersects with 4th of July weekend, as it happens). Charmed as hell to see this guy as the plane flew into the city airport. </div>
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This year celebrates Canada's 150th birthday, so recognitions of that were all over the place.</div>
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Not content to have one night of parties for such a big milestone, there were concerts and fireworks several days in a row - we caught one incarnation.</div>
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Our first stop after checking in was the SkyDome (which is now named after a cell service company, I guess) for a Blue Jays/Red Sox game. We missed the first inning and change because, well, we were coming to the game from Newark, but that did not spoil our day. The dome was open when we got there, but some rain started a few innings in so they closed it mid-game.</div>
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Our next stop was a brewery/restaurant, where we grabbed seats at the bar and got as much info from the fantastic bartender as we could about places to go. </div>
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We walked our asses off, like you do when you're in a city you don't (yet) know well. Great city, many fab neighborhoods, super friendly people, really good food and drink, good public transportation, great street art, robust art & performance scene all around.</div>
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On multiple recommendations, we went to the AGO and caught, among other things, a <a href="http://www.ago.net/every-now-then-reframing-nationhood?_ga=2.241248834.1745248692.1501169907-1954785616.1501169907">show focusing on Canadian artists</a>, with a particular eye on indigenous artists [as you can imagine, the whole "this nation was formed 150 years ago! Woo hoo!" story plays pretty differently among the indigenous population and allies]. Also caught a retrospective of <a href="http://www.ago.net/rita-letendre-fire-light">Rita Letendre</a>, whom I hadn't heard of; the show was an excellent, necessary corrective to that.</div>
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So yes, Oh, Canada - you're not perfect, and your dreamboat of a Prime Minister has made some <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/02/why_canadian_prime_minister_justin_trudeau_won_t_criticize_donald_trump.html">sketchy</a> <a href="http://www.hcn.org/articles/do-canadas-new-pipeline-approvals-threaten-its-climate-goals">compromises</a> and gets off super easy because of his <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/26/politics/trump-military-transgender/index.html">disastrous counterpart to the south</a>, but you are a (relatively) open society with an eye on human rights, and what appears to be an open mind about truth and reconciliation with the people who have lived on this continent for millennia.</div>
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Plus, Toronto has an airport you can get to via a 90 second ferry ride, which is pretty bitchin.</div>
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-85059900580533768012017-07-20T16:00:00.000-04:002017-07-20T16:00:20.963-04:00Tales from Three CitiesNot that I have necessarily been seeking them out, but stories about gentrification (and hyper-gentrification, which appears to be where we are now) have been increasingly crossing my field of vision.<br />
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<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/385176/an-artists-guide-to-not-being-complicit-with-gentrification/">Los Angeles</a> (Boyle Heights specifically) - a group of tenant activists claim that an influx of artists and shops perceived to be art-adjacent (and arguably investment properties disguised as art spaces) are harbingers of community-eviscerating gentrification already in the works.</div>
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<img height="266" src="https://hyperallergic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/East-Side-Local-Chapter-of-LA-Tenants-Union-and-Union-de-Vecinos-Action-in-Boyle-Heights-Los-Angeles-2016-Photo-by-Timo-Saarelma-1-720x480.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Timo Saarelma</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.gq.com/story/san-francisco-is-burning">San Francisco</a> - a much less nuanced tale of landlords literally (allegedly) burning down dwellings in order to get rid of protected tenants. Appalling.</div>
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Closer to home, an event at the great Housing Works bookstore cafe in <a href="http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2017/06/vanishing-new-york-book-party.html">New York</a> - drawn to that while hunting down information about the announced closing of the Sunshine Cinema. It's a launch for the book version of the fabulous-while-infuriating <a href="http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/">Vanishing New York</a>, complete with a performance by friend and fellow-traveler Penny Arcade. This is happening next Thursday, July 27 - see you there.</div>
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mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-18750738717456196022017-06-01T15:33:00.000-04:002017-06-01T15:33:19.295-04:00Keep Your Eye on the BaliSO much going on. <br />
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Covfefe distracts, while the Climate Agreement may actually be abandoned in a few minutes. I mean, it's not a surprise, it's what he's said all along, and his policies - such as they are - have eroded environmental protections and will continue to no matter what momentary lip service the president ends up paying to international scientific rigor. And the noise is such, that people seem not to be noticing that department after life-saving department is atrophying from neglect (or crumbling under abuse). Not least - lest we forget - millions of our Fellow Americans continue to view such things as worthy of very slight consideration, if not cause for celebration.<br />
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This state of affairs has been, is, and continues to be intolerable, and I condemn it. So there.<br />
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In other news, we lost a giant of world music this week. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/arts/music/david-lewiston-dead-discoverer-of-world-music.html">David Lewiston</a>, whose name might not be at the front of your mind, but if you are have listened to indigenous music of Asia, Africa, or South America, to Gamelan, Tibetan chants, sacred song from around the world, there's a good chance he recorded it, or inspired the person who did.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo: NY Times/Nonesuch Records</span>mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-58061770208924700502017-05-08T18:15:00.000-04:002017-05-09T10:36:40.612-04:00Censorship and Speech<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had composed a pretty good (if I may say so myself; at any rate it took some effort) entry for my first post after what I think has been my longest hiatus from this platform since I began, in recognition of Day 101 of the current presidential administration. It covered some of the events since the election, including national and international reactions, and wrapped with a parallel to Orwell’s Room 101. But that batch of writing and linking was lost to the vagaries of the internets. And so it goes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rather than try to recreate that, what I’m posting today is a set of two different perspectives on free speech and restrictions to speech published recently in the Times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From the first piece, by insistent dissident <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/06/opinion/sunday/ai-weiwei-how-censorship-works.html&source=gmail&ust=1494365176890000&usg=AFQjCNGlbYKhbvRTL2F_bSk3IhJWndqQeg" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/06/opinion/sunday/ai-weiwei-how-censorship-works.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Ai Weiwei</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The most elegant way to adjust to censorship is to engage in self-censorship. It is the perfect method for allying with power and setting the stage for the mutual exchange of benefit. The act of kowtowing to power in order to receive small pleasures may seem minor; but without it, the brutal assault of the censorship system would not be possible.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">For people who accept this passive position toward authority, “getting by” becomes the supreme value. They smile, bow and nod their heads, and such behavior usually leads to lifestyles that are comfortable, trouble free and even cushy. This attitude is essentially defensive on their part. It is obvious that in any dispute, if one side is silenced, the words of the other side will go unquestioned.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And from the second, by <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/opinion/what-liberal-snowflakes-get-right-about-free-speech.html&source=gmail&ust=1494365176890000&usg=AFQjCNGlk2QWDwwDYStyRW5jCwjyhTRrbQ" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/opinion/what-liberal-snowflakes-get-right-about-free-speech.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Ulrich Baer</a>, vice provost at New York University. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">What is under severe attack, in the name of an absolute notion of free speech, are the rights, both legal and cultural, of minorities to participate in public discourse. The snowflakes sensed, a good year before the election of (the president), that insults and direct threats could once again become sanctioned by the most powerful office in the land. They grasped that racial and sexual equality is not so deep in the DNA of the American public that even some of its legal safeguards could not be undone.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The issues to which the students are so sensitive might be benign when they occur within the ivory tower. Coming from the campaign trail and now the White House, the threats are not meant to merely offend. Like (the president's) attacks on the liberal media as the “enemies of the American people,” his insults are meant to discredit and delegitimize whole groups as less worthy of participation in the public exchange of ideas.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Both are worth a full read. I have tended to be something of a free speech absolutist, though maybe not exactly the variety branded by Baer; however, Baer's points (or more accurately, points he distills from decades’ worth of writing and public discussion on the topic) are valid, and essential to consider when forming opinions - and policies - concerning, for example, speaking events on campuses. Baer </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">hosted a fascinating panel </span>at the NYU Law School “In Defense of Truth” a couple weeks ago,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> concerning the concept of truth - not least, the durability of ideas that <i>feel</i> true, across any spectrum you care to name - as seen through the lenses of art, journalism, and the law. </span></div>
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For now, I'll leave you with a few more images touching on <a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/ai-weiwei-beginners-guide">surveillance</a>, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/ai-weiwei-salvages-and-straightens-150-tons-of-steel-rebar-from-sitchuan-quake-to-create-stunning-art-installation/">education, infrastructure, and public protections</a> from the Ai Weiwei show we saw at the Tate Modern a while back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LgtBLeoJDY1bi2KQmyAan1oczEBkVxQqDetC8nXw-9_qAGczel2DJ4ifyQMmQFbTUuaJiIgFwXhIvV4QMuWSmUE2WFTfbeHH1zSu1Er51Kb3Io-TNJZ18VT6JCH8SU1EjYnh/s1600/Camcorder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LgtBLeoJDY1bi2KQmyAan1oczEBkVxQqDetC8nXw-9_qAGczel2DJ4ifyQMmQFbTUuaJiIgFwXhIvV4QMuWSmUE2WFTfbeHH1zSu1Er51Kb3Io-TNJZ18VT6JCH8SU1EjYnh/s320/Camcorder.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-19452198448692790432016-09-11T16:42:00.001-04:002016-09-11T16:42:32.828-04:00Saturday afternoon, Hoboken, NJ<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Chill afternoon doing some around-the-apartment stuff; mostly routine, with the extra addition of disconnecting the cable box in the penultimate step in my cable company cord-cutting. </div>
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Ideas for the new slogan for the cable TV division of Optimum/Cablevision:</div>
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"Staggeringly poor service for stunningly rich prices!"</blockquote>
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"Our team is perfectly friendly, just not actually helpful."</blockquote>
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Used the time to do some reading & writing, and have a listening session for a couple new acquisitions:</div>
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Amazing. You have no idea.</div>
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mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-28591921097378384592016-08-11T15:29:00.001-04:002016-08-11T15:29:20.981-04:00Adventures in Public ArtCouple items from <a href="http://hyperallergic.com/">HyperAllergic</a>, which has fast become one of my favorite sources for news from the art world.<br />
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First <a href="http://hyperallergic.com/314079/photographer-files-1-billion-suit-against-getty-for-licensing-her-public-domain-images/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Photographer%20Files%201%20Billion%20Suit%20Against%20Getty%20for%20Licensing%20Her%20Public%20Domain%20Images&utm_content=Photographer%20Files%201%20Billion%20Suit%20Against%20Getty%20for%20Licensing%20Her%20Public%20Domain%20Images+CID_4997cb2b6cd4cb26a7a9dcc351c8e8e9&utm_source=HyperallergicNewsletter&utm_term=photographer%20Ca">this</a>, (read it!) about the amazing <a href="http://www.carolhighsmithamerica.com/">Carol Highsmith</a>'s billion-dollar scuffle with Getty Images over them charging for images THAT SHE DONATED to the Library of Congress.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJprcUW55iSpuAb3Rbd1qIhvf2igHwNAGpwzG0LA02hSCr0YxN7zn2aATA6emv1cxctIHyrypVp15JXOwIE2K93avMkYuxp6Kqu7Fi5e-bQfyfFtBBh0GFkDhsPHYzMjCVA-jX/s1600/Highsmith+Baltimore+Mural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJprcUW55iSpuAb3Rbd1qIhvf2igHwNAGpwzG0LA02hSCr0YxN7zn2aATA6emv1cxctIHyrypVp15JXOwIE2K93avMkYuxp6Kqu7Fi5e-bQfyfFtBBh0GFkDhsPHYzMjCVA-jX/s400/Highsmith+Baltimore+Mural.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4AzkGcknEDn8ldr_UysfaXSoUD5A97xR5jdHBiHMJDhwY-Zf1BoRucVu4dzlnP7i4wAhSFaMVF_ksBKLGS1D10OOTRDlKdBivGqwvMYFgOvpYMCDhYrXbdzyf4p9OVhw1p7o/s1600/Highsmith+Cuba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4AzkGcknEDn8ldr_UysfaXSoUD5A97xR5jdHBiHMJDhwY-Zf1BoRucVu4dzlnP7i4wAhSFaMVF_ksBKLGS1D10OOTRDlKdBivGqwvMYFgOvpYMCDhYrXbdzyf4p9OVhw1p7o/s400/Highsmith+Cuba.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And then getting even closer to home, <a href="http://hyperallergic.com/313744/jersey-city-censors-a-public-artwork-it-commissioned/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Photographer%20Files%201%20Billion%20Suit%20Against%20Getty%20for%20Licensing%20Her%20Public%20Domain%20Images&utm_content=Photographer%20Files%201%20Billion%20Suit%20Against%20Getty%20for%20Licensing%20Her%20Public%20Domain%20Images+CID_4997cb2b6cd4cb26a7a9dcc351c8e8e9&utm_source=HyperallergicNewsletter&utm_term=Jersey%20City%20Censors%20a%20Public%20Artwork%20It%20Commissioned">this one</a>, about the controversy over some <a href="https://twitter.com/mr_abillity">Mr. AbiLLity</a> street art (commissioned street art, mind you) in Jersey City. This is a city dear to my heart, likely the place I'd move to if I were moving to the area today, but which needs to get its ish together stat. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 22.5068px; text-align: left;">photo: </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHr24aahJDG/" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 22.5068px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@lifeisamother/Instagram</a></span></td></tr>
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Between this nonsense at the Newark Ave. pedestrian plaza, and the <a href="http://friendsofloews.com/court-reinstates-loews-grant/">ongoing obstructionism</a> over at the Loew's Landmark Theater in Journal Square... it hath made me mad. I mean, ok sure: Getty Images, eff them, what do you expect? (let's hope the courts make them pay richly for their greed) But Jersey City ought to be a place that looks after the people who live and work there. <br />
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I know Mayor Fulop <a href="http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/08/christie_allies_blast_fulop_over_endorsement_court.html">has his hands full</a> fighting with Chris Christie, and I won't argue with that, but come on - this? Stymying the artistic voices - the local, homegrown or transplanted artists right there in the middle of the living, breathing city - that actually add to the community? Step it up, JC.mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-24004928409576146172016-08-09T12:04:00.001-04:002016-08-09T12:04:48.242-04:00Perspective/Focus<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Vantage from one of the days I was shooting <i>The Accidental Wolf</i>.</div>
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Channeling Coppola via Columbus Circle.</div>
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The night before, I got to drive around Hell's Kitchen with this rig strapped to the passenger door.</div>
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Should be a very good series - I'll let you know as things are released...</div>
mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-14812223174747914182016-07-25T18:27:00.000-04:002016-07-26T13:15:45.308-04:00TrifectaThree Shakespeare plays over three nights, Thursday through Saturday. One was free, one pay-what-you-want, and one was the opposite of free. Each has something unique to offer to this summer's Shakespeare season (made a little extra juicy by this year's commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.)<br />
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<i><a href="http://publictheater.org/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/SITP/troilusandcressida/?SiteTheme=Shakespeare">Troilus and Cressida</a> </i>from the Public/NYSF at the Delacorte; <i><a href="http://thecradletheatre.org/asyoulikeit/">As You Like It</a></i> from The Cradle Theatre in Prospect Park; <i><a href="http://www.lincolncenterfestival.org/2016/the-merchant-of-venice">The Merchant of Venice</a>, </i>which is the contribution to the Lincoln Center Festival from Shakespeare's Globe.<br />
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As I've said before (and will say again), I'm an actor, not a critic; no desire to pick these shows apart. Dan Sullivan (whom I've known for a while) takes a really good swing at the very tricky pitch that is <i>Troilus</i>. The curveballs of love and politics, the high heat of war, the secret signals that hold together the batteries of diplomacy and military intelligence. Homeric Greece and Troy find their way to an Orwellian present of perpetual war. <br />
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Rebecca Etzine (whose tumblr I've admired for a while, and whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the show on Friday) delivered an <i>As You Like It</i> that is even more distinctly of today. A young company of young artists turned a wooded part of Prospect Park into the forest of Arden - a few extra twists of gender and sexuality, plenty of playfulness, and a healthy dose of irreverence result in a show that is compelling, contemporary, and - most importantly - <i>alive</i>. They're moving camp to Ft. Greene this weekend; check their <a href="http://thecradletheatre.org/asyoulikeit/">website</a>. Cory missed this one, sadly; hey, this heatwave is a real thing, and not everyone's appetite for Shakespeare is quite as bottomless as mine, especially given that on the docket for the next night was... <br />
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Last and emphatically not least, Jonathan Pryce was Shylock in what is of the most brutal, and certainly one of the best, productions of <i>Merchant</i> I've ever seen. While the staging and design is firmly in 16th Century Venice, the anti-semitism conjures all-too-current outbreaks in Europe and America. Never (in my experience) has Shylock seemed so justified, never has Jessica been so disdained (even after her 'voluntary' conversion and marriage to Lorenzo), never has Antonio been such an asshole, and NEVER has Portia been such a snotty, snobby, vindictive prig (while still managing to be the smartest person in the room). The final, added scene of Shylock's forced baptism was bitterly piercing.<br />
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Not much visual stimulation for you today, but here are a couple shots of Shakespeare's birthplace from our trip. [What?? A side trip to Stratford-upon-Avon when we went to London? Hey, he'll only have a 400th Deathiversary once.]<br />
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A couple exteriors of the gables.<br />
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A shot of a little one checking out the signatures scratched into the birthroom window.<br />
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And - why not? - a couple shots from Anne Hathaway's cottage, including Rudy, Cory, and Mol checking out the <b>epic garden.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiXusHDgGaH3dtEdGSmz3gOLmMBbzmxNn2ZRBtRXU1qxALWeo_H5yYe8nJve7hMrI9QSbH32hEWXKRg5wTdeYWQ6HwtIdfV6XRGDO-ErZr_Rw9_zvNkdauL4OEyiTOR5Imu4_/s1600/Hathaway+Cottage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiXusHDgGaH3dtEdGSmz3gOLmMBbzmxNn2ZRBtRXU1qxALWeo_H5yYe8nJve7hMrI9QSbH32hEWXKRg5wTdeYWQ6HwtIdfV6XRGDO-ErZr_Rw9_zvNkdauL4OEyiTOR5Imu4_/s400/Hathaway+Cottage.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-36343478190306620582016-07-19T22:52:00.000-04:002016-07-26T13:25:11.453-04:00Common Ground<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things, then there is a possibility that you can contribute to making a better world." - Noam Chomsky</div>
mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-69608408386920377702016-06-28T15:23:00.001-04:002016-06-29T16:21:46.898-04:00Pride<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Pride March this past weekend, with the Anti Violence Project's group, particularly with Cat and Cleo, Cheri & Sadie, and of course Cory. A good vibrant, loving group of people, and supporters for miles. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The news reports talked about the somber tone in light of Orlando, and I won't pretend there weren't moments, or that there weren't tears. But <a href="http://www.advocate.com/politics/2016/6/24/obama-designates-stonewall-national-lgbt-monument">Stonewall</a> had also just been declared a National Landmark, and love is love is love is love is love.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tonight I was reminded at a screening of Neil Gaiman's exhortation (reminiscent of <a href="http://nycmick.blogspot.com/2012/12/whats-next.html">Bernstein's</a>)</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">: in the wake of adversity, <a href="http://www.uarts.edu/neil-gaiman-keynote-address-2012">make good art</a>. A gathering like this, with family, friends, supporters, allies of every shape and size, counts as some version of that.</span></div>
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-87800317184861983462016-06-24T14:48:00.002-04:002016-06-24T14:54:26.251-04:00Celebrate<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="http://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/bric-celebrate-brooklyn-festival">Brooklyn</a>, that is. Not <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887">Brexit</a>. That's a whole other box of wine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREVZQGCJ4zMKA3COBnSQy_9xKoTtb4Ig3FRD6MYUfVIc9FGtpE8efdHIlou2dbPESKckQQ9RAsCmUHEEMxtM7foWPONy61NJScXljEu0uF6BHvYWpFJZeql7RytocTqbzuJ9m/s1600/blogger-image--2071452581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREVZQGCJ4zMKA3COBnSQy_9xKoTtb4Ig3FRD6MYUfVIc9FGtpE8efdHIlou2dbPESKckQQ9RAsCmUHEEMxtM7foWPONy61NJScXljEu0uF6BHvYWpFJZeql7RytocTqbzuJ9m/s320/blogger-image--2071452581.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20NxxXwlTBam_tbE6AO-CDutTUmR3EOYCZxwp2U0r1Ixr9__MNGk9bihimK5l65VmdJ6PZl8zTrJfzykjneVv4xe0mIDNxT7ficYm5GD_laX2Ev_VVuhD5qJCfB801FCU4mpB/s640/blogger-image--354101457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Last weekend we went to our 2nd Celebrate Brooklyn show so far this season [the first was the amazing Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.] The opener was the formidable Kristin Hersh, sans Muses, but fully loaded with guitar and growl.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiDkLTbWYEBVwrKMwd7G0idthVbxuq7uWGbf9Msl8vc52YvdThlwb608sQGuMGZSlxVe3zX4jAsvwI2nA1fHupUOWPmSVdYe4oP1B1neQ4irz4w8e7Wq5B3q139mRj5A9crLg/s640/blogger-image--199316336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiDkLTbWYEBVwrKMwd7G0idthVbxuq7uWGbf9Msl8vc52YvdThlwb608sQGuMGZSlxVe3zX4jAsvwI2nA1fHupUOWPmSVdYe4oP1B1neQ4irz4w8e7Wq5B3q139mRj5A9crLg/s400/blogger-image--199316336.jpg" width="300" /></a>Next up were the Violent Femmes in all their glory. I managed my expectations pretty strictly, having last seen them way back when in Madison, (practically a home town gig for a Milwaukee band) at something like their height. I was just a kid, but it was on the short list of highest energy shows I had seen, and the crowd responded in kind. Gordon Gano told the (extremely) college-centric audience at the Civic Center something along the lines of "You guys are making us feel like we made it to the Final Four."</div>
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Might have been a line he used everywhere.</div>
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This show was a lot less collegiate, and the middle-aged family folk in the chairs up front kept their prospects parked in their seats almost until the end of the set, but Gano and Brian Richie put out plenty of wattage across a fabulous range of instruments along with John Sparrow on a variety of percussion including-but-not-limited to Webber grill, Blaise Garza on that gigantic contrabass sax among other things, and the mighty Horns of Dilemma.<br />
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All hail summer at the bandshell.<br />
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Now please excuse me while I have a cup of coffee and a Brexit Burrito and figure out what the hell we should do next.<br />
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This just in: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/live/eu-referendum/wait-a-minute">According to the Times</a> "Google reported a spike in (UK-based) searches for "What happens if we leave the E.U." And the question "What is the E.U.?" was the second most popular question in Britain" <i>In Britain.</i> If you're a little queasy, you're not alone.mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-12177440235600413392016-06-17T15:08:00.000-04:002016-06-24T14:55:07.808-04:00Avant GardeSo this is kind of exciting.<br />
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All issues of Avant Garde Magazine have been made available for online viewing in their entirety.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOcOQkXoRFirodw2oyIiicP7l39AZl5bLVRhKBi386ztX3NLSPdh7T5PDH5bV5ddxikmDuVLaAhxpCGXMU8krbVYv0JbPaRVZKYKZAgctURoNcV3Kt3qKvkuK1zTvKW4LJ9_d8/s1600/avantgarde-vol-1.jpg" /><br />
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It ran from 1968-71, 14 issues in total, published by the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR2006070601724.html">controversial</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Ginzburg">Ralph Ginzburg</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN68DcdNuDXO6v1zdsdVte7qdWgxKP24Fl_aIwdt0iL606d2milvYq3UN3Hh1HYAhZfAds2Ue7YnqwCK2jD67ain5VqFodSO3wCxrjoyVaRZCrDWeu3lAgJpVHocmeIoDMDXP/s1600/Avant-Garde-11-Cover-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN68DcdNuDXO6v1zdsdVte7qdWgxKP24Fl_aIwdt0iL606d2milvYq3UN3Hh1HYAhZfAds2Ue7YnqwCK2jD67ain5VqFodSO3wCxrjoyVaRZCrDWeu3lAgJpVHocmeIoDMDXP/s400/Avant-Garde-11-Cover-800.jpg" width="387" /></a></div>
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Not universally beloved; there was particular <a href="http://www.aiga.org/crimes-against-typography/">loathing</a> from some of the font fanatics (not to say fetishists) of the world (and <a href="http://www.100besttypefaces.com/23_Avant+Garde+Gothic.html">support</a> from others) against Avant Garde <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITC_Avant_Garde">typeface</a> created by art director <a href="http://adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/herb-lubalin/">Herb Lubalin</a>.<br />
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<img height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwig9-fLP_vpoJbXO7jnLh3oGE2nffA_4sZfQiOiRrYvOojV30eGsNVJjZo5Q8FC91WjB0cckl0vU_mEvm-vQOlG0kGw3VMjsFZ4i1BIYrUtOmlHFs7JJJyFOfae41ZKQLnAW/s400/avantgarde-vol-7a.jpg" width="392" /><br />
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You can <a href="http://avantgarde.110west40th.com/">view the issues online here</a>, or download them courtesy the brilliant <a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> <a href="https://archive.org/details/avantgarde">here</a>.mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-50866371351870237182016-06-13T19:38:00.001-04:002016-06-13T21:48:48.875-04:00After OrlandoThe rational, measured, intelligent response that Obama gave to that gun guy at that town hall a couple weeks ago has been making the rounds an extra special lot in the last 48 hours. Understandably.<div><br></div><div>Last night it came to me that there most certainly ARE some people who want to do away with all personal possesion of guns, or at least handguns & assault weapons: either repeal the 2nd Amendment or drive through the courts an interpretation that limits the right to bear arms to that well-regulated militia it mentions. I don't happen to agree with them most of the time, although days like this make me step back and give them a little extra time to make their case, but these folks do exist, so we don't need to pretend that they don't. Some of them are friends, and some of them are really smart. </div><div><br></div><div>As far as I can tell, the "get rid of all guns" crowd is a pretty fringe-y minority, numbers-wise. Important to be there though as a rhetorical balance to the other side of the scale, which is the "let anybody who wants one get as many guns, as powerful as they can carry, whenever they want to" crew. I do not tend to lend them a friendly ear, nor do I generally have a great deal of respect for the "intelligence" at work in their reasoning. ["More, and more deadly, guns in nightclubs will make things safer!" Right. Next.] </div><div><br></div><div>Here again, I don't think we're talking about too many people in the "AR-15s for Everyone!" camp, although this wing of the argument is vastly more funded, and many many times more influential in terms of lawmakers and policy. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">And here is where the anger gets hard to control. Because it has been well demonstrated that a vast majority of the U.S. citizenry, including citizen gun-owners, wants some restraints placed on our current, nearly unfettered access to guns <b>designed for the purpose of killing people</b>. And yet the belief persists that limitations - which would strike most Americans as quite reasonable, not to say blindingly obvious - are actually intended to be the trickle that leads to the stream that leads to a gush to a flood of GUN GRABBING courtesy of the Feds.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Which it wouldn't be. Did you notice we are talking about America? How do you think that would play out?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">But a trickle leading to a stream leading to a gush of being a lot more thoughtful about where and how and what kind of guns we want to have around might be a movement we could get behind. Because as it is, we have a situation where - between this unprecedented civilian availability of assault weaponry with unprecedented speed, power, and capacity on the one side, and the literal militarization of local police forces on the other - we are in an arms race with ourselves. And I for one am not the least bit interested in seeing how THAT would play out.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I could go on and on about the intolerance, the homophobia, the rush to link the murderer with a terrorist network that seems to have been barely aware of him, and by extension to a religion that would, and in fact already has, roundly condemn his actions, </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and much much more that is already being said out there</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">. But one other thing I want to mention right now: please don't let </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the obsession with the perpetrator lead to ignoring the victims. Let their names be known, let their stories be told, let their memories be honored. And while we're at that, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">please don't let the carnage at Pulse completely drown out the heartbreaking murder of Christina Grimmie, gunned down at the age of 22 by a fan while signing autographs and working the merch table after her own show the night before the Pulse massacre. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Rough couple days for Orlando.</span></div>mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-86728045241110696432016-06-08T16:15:00.000-04:002016-06-08T16:15:56.968-04:00Reading ReplacementsLast Saturday night we went to an event at <a href="http://www.littlecitybooks.com/">Little City Books</a> in Hoboken - a combination book release/signing, discussion, and concert, all in celebration of Bob Mehr's <a href="http://www.replacementsbook.com/">Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements</a>.<br />
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The 'Mats are one of the all-time great bands as far as I'm concerned, and the I-haven't-finished-it-yet-but-so-far-it's-more-than-worth-the-effort book has drawn attention from some pretty fab people.<br />
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Michael Hill, who helped the band navigate Warner Brothers. Or tried to.<br />
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The interlocutor was Bob Mehr himself, writer and raconteur extraordinaire.<br />
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Glenn Morrow's Cry for Help<br />
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Jennifer O'Connor<br />
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Freedy Johnson with Dave Schramm. Take that in for a second. Dave also answered Morrow's Cry for Help from the sidelines.<br />
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More Freedy<br />
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The Dead Wicks.<br />
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It's not a big place (true to form) but we packed it pretty good.<br />
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From what I could tell, they sold all the copies they had of the book, and gave away all the Replacements gear (in exchange for donations to the bands) too. It was a superfun night; happy to have done it in Hoboken rather than the Strand - though it did mean we had to miss the 75 Dollar Bill/Little Black Egg show. You can't do everything.</div>
mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-65766532926406162652016-05-25T10:00:00.000-04:002016-05-25T10:00:31.263-04:00How to Get AheadIn Sri Lanka, anyway...<br />
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From a Sri Lankan propaganda/PSA film. Or so we were told by the amazing Station Manager Ken on the unparalleled WFMU.mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-82843902802086778202016-04-01T18:28:00.001-04:002016-04-07T08:21:38.892-04:00Zaha HadidOne more image to add to the vast gallery appearing everywhere celebrating <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/apr/01/zaha-hadid-obituary">Zaha Hadid</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQi7mweHgJtMXjoFHSI1JKZaTHYDtF73mx8u70JiSafsb9Q5xYi9k0ueCeG_qmW8xfHEMyGBI-aChjf8f0gKYbXk2pxzcDu2J16_aQI5I1L6xlUqVYmGmlocjZ-h3Ea0aCo7a/s1600/Hadid+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQi7mweHgJtMXjoFHSI1JKZaTHYDtF73mx8u70JiSafsb9Q5xYi9k0ueCeG_qmW8xfHEMyGBI-aChjf8f0gKYbXk2pxzcDu2J16_aQI5I1L6xlUqVYmGmlocjZ-h3Ea0aCo7a/s400/Hadid+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is from the Guy Fawkes <a href="http://nycmick.blogspot.com/2014/01/serpentine-perspectives.html">trip</a> a couple years back.mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-79756082584242954982016-03-30T17:58:00.000-04:002016-03-30T17:58:25.144-04:00Good FridayFrom a bus on West 23rd Street, Good Friday afternoon.<br />
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-62066310140346802912016-03-19T19:20:00.002-04:002016-03-19T19:25:57.270-04:00Happy Daylight Saving Time, Ides of March, St. Patrick's, All That<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This year they decided to put the New Hampshire primary
right at the end of the trifecta that was Super Bowl Sunday, Asian/Lunar New
Year, and Mardi Gras. I started writing this post way back then. And a lot has happened since.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Putting aside a
discussion of the Dems (for the moment) to
share a few words about Donald “Making America Great Again” (Which slogan, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/opinion/clash-of-republican-con-artists.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region">as has been pointed out</a>, is intended to mean "making America white again." In case you weren't clear on that.) <o:p></o:p>Trump. Or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpO_RTSNmQ">Drumpf</a>, as the case may be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I do get torn about making fun of the guy. This whole post started with that GIF way down at the bottom. (You'll get to it; you've probably already seen it.) Because while pretty much everything he says and does warrants making fun, it's getting less and less funny as the primaries wind on. The notion that he has any real understanding of, or even
much interest in, actual policy crumbles upon <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/megyn-kelly-confronts-donald-trump-032557419.html">the slightest scrutiny</a>. So what’s going on?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, a couple things pop to mind off the bat. Here’s a guy who was born into money, and
plenty of it. He took a look at the
options and made some choices.
My guess is that he was drawn to gambling, and sees the obvious truth in the maxim that “the house always wins.” So,
since he had the cash and saw that it's more lucrative to be the house than the gambler, he bought some ‘houses.’
Even when they didn’t win (you know, those bankruptcies in Atlantic
City, the University, the Steaks, the list goes on) well, gaming the system is his game, so he made it work, and made it fit in </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">with a pretty clear addiction to being the center of attention</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He’s also a proven showman of the huckster variety, with a Barnum-worthy
eye for the audience. And it may be that his true talent lies in media manipulation. And now that he's running for President, not just as a punch line in the late night comedy, but a real honest-to-god frontrunner, that audience is America. Which has shown itself to be hungry for the hatred, the racism, the puffed up machismo, the gutter sniping, the name-calling. It's not <i>just </i>the latent intolerance rearing its head after the perceived indignity of living with a President of Color for 7 years, and having to suffer through progress in gay rights and access to health care. It it not just that a large portion of the populace is frightened at the idea that a woman should be permitted (or - say it isn't so! - possibly be in a place to do the actual permitting) to have control of her body; and not completely comfortable with the notion that her worth might not be wholly dependent on her appearance; and thoroughly confused, gobsmacked, terrified by the idea that gender itself may be a fluid concept. It is not just that people have those bigoted reactions, though it most certainly is partially that. The embrace of the neighborhood bully shouting down the nerdy wonks in the debate club also comes from years and years of pent-up frustration resulting from seeing crony capitalism strip wealth away from the population at large and concentrate it among a very small number of people gaming the system. Never mind that Trump is one of "them" - his 'telling it like it really is' (which, let's not forget, is not-very-clever code for racism, sexism, dominance fantasy, and discomfort with outsiders), he is speaking for "us."</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And that dualist formulation is suuuupes a problem, because it's never never <i>never</i> as simple as Us vs Them. I am about 99.5% positive that I have friends and/or family members who support this guy, just based on the numbers. And we should be very-clear sighted about the alternatives in the Republican party - not one of them offers anything remotely worth voting for. And I have zero problem condemning the philosophy (if you can call it that) driving the white-supremacist, sexist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, plain old hateful ideas being spouted. But the people who have those ideas - not often very fully thought-out (how could they be?), but viscerally, authentically bubbling up from the gut - they live here too. "They" have a voice, they get a vote, and you are probably related to and/or friends with some too. Is there a chance they will change the way they feel? Some of them will, maybe, but history (remember that?) shows pretty clearly that it's hard to get a whole bunch of people to face that mirror and realize that you've been doing it wrong. [And don't forget, when we're Us and Them-ing it, "they" are all hoping that "we" will face that same mirror from the other side, see our reflection and make the same conclusion.]</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I guess I'm going to want to post this before it turns into a book outline rather than a blog entry. But before I do, I want to point out that - for all his many, many failings - Señor Trump is simply reflecting the racism and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/jan/06/dont-let-trump-fool-you-rightwing-populism-is-the-new-normal-video">extreme intolerance/intolerant extremism</a> that has been developing for years, in America and abroad. Carefully cultivated by the Republican Party and its media wing? Sure. But really - it's been doing just fine growing wild on its own too (and not just in the GOP, while we're telling the truth about things). And the non-Donald Republican rivals are<b> not </b>improvements, in any real day-to-day way: although they might pose slightly less risk of complete destruction of the American two-party system (a bad thing?) they do stand for policies that essentially do away with any part of government that benefits workers and the general population, while enhancing those parts of the government that prop up corporations and the wealthy, and expanding the military and hastening conflict (while, paradoxically, ignoring the needs of actual soldiers and returning veterans).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">SO - are the Dems the answer? Never, not really. They are, of course, about a hundred times better than their opponents on the other side of the aisle, but if you're flipping through the Book of Perfect People, I don't think you'll find either Clinton or Sanders. It is a very short book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What you want to do is vote for the presidential candidate you agree with most, AND - and this part is extra-special important, and you'll be making a big mistake if you overlook it the way people seem to do every year - the people you agree with most in your other national, state, and local elections. And then - and here's the part people <i>really </i>forget about - stay engaged. Because there is no elected official completely impervious to pressures and temptations of elected office. Stay out there, stay active, keep talking and keep listening. It's only - <i>only</i> - ongoing social movement that causes anything to happen that really benefits the people.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">By the way, what the fuck did he think he was doing when he sat for this shot? Even the most experienced falconers use a glove. Of course, they also have a clue about how to approach and handle a bird of prey. [And, ummmm, yes: that's a metaphor for the unspoken Big Bad risk associated with any of the fellows running for President Right Wing Nut Job: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">global nuclear annihilation resulting from overwhelmingly misplaced responsibility.]</span></span></div>
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mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-59636798317410247262016-02-26T12:10:00.000-05:002016-02-26T12:10:10.612-05:00Early WorkOur first stop on our first full day in Barcelona.<br />
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Bell Esguard, one of Gaudi's first jobs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-ZrDb1695Nib9o6xqNm80pNMLYIOD_9KYqkrLGYSmypCnSU8UHAHGI1ExviTSk35qCVYX7Ma0x69haskmfj0q8Nd7oxnFPcn2pfgq5ROThBhsIwpxvlhDOx-rCu3oH9MP5RW/s1600/Bell+Esguard+Fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-ZrDb1695Nib9o6xqNm80pNMLYIOD_9KYqkrLGYSmypCnSU8UHAHGI1ExviTSk35qCVYX7Ma0x69haskmfj0q8Nd7oxnFPcn2pfgq5ROThBhsIwpxvlhDOx-rCu3oH9MP5RW/s400/Bell+Esguard+Fish.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-60531132119920652122016-02-19T20:32:00.001-05:002016-02-19T20:32:30.082-05:00Yo La LucierContinuing adventures in music.<br />
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The Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Hall.<br />
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Yo La Tengo performing the music of Alvin Lucier. Bringing it to the molecular level, taking microphones to the scale of microscopes. <br />
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Georgia on the triangle. <i>Silver Streetcar for the Orchestra</i>. Who knew so little would yield so much?</div>
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James on the balloon. Actually all three of them did this piece, <i>Heavier Than Air, </i>joined by Lucier himself! It involved them speaking memories into the balloons, which acted as a sonic lens focusing the sound, so it was clearer when aimed in your direction, and more diffuse when aimed somewhere else. (According to the program the balloons were filled with heavier-than-air carbon dioxide, which I'm guessing is a fancy way to say people inflated the balloons by blowing into them.)</div>
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Ira on the guitar, calling an audible.<br />
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I didn't get a pic of him playing the teapot. Take my word for it. Nothing is Real.<br />
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There was a dual guitar microtone duel, and they did some YLT songs too. They played, we listened. Damn good. </div>
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Of course, that's just my opinion.</div>
mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-48817941838557281122016-02-08T18:09:00.002-05:002016-02-08T18:09:55.203-05:00Casa Comalat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not Gaudí this time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGnBu9Qo8oykaV64Y58-1QA0BS6_9tH0Q-CFe2dS-RI_SjZNJpggOHK8q6E9GTI5pS_faeMDjfcTmdm65PEe_4RMVXba3n6xIGFFF237zcLRTbn_9s5_zs9fTa2z4LY_p1ac5/s1600/Comalat+Window.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGnBu9Qo8oykaV64Y58-1QA0BS6_9tH0Q-CFe2dS-RI_SjZNJpggOHK8q6E9GTI5pS_faeMDjfcTmdm65PEe_4RMVXba3n6xIGFFF237zcLRTbn_9s5_zs9fTa2z4LY_p1ac5/s400/Comalat+Window.JPG" width="251" /></a><span style="text-align: right;">Casa Comalat was designed by Salvador Valeri i Pupurull</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIqutelDcBnugjQqHlgmG_Ul0fKcGW0EagrrR_0gOLJMhN-eHYlZ-56KqYDRaW2l8xDwjXohoj896UCiTiBhPSX2IoNkQ99i_0CpXZ3XqbU8WHyBCKXfyUSNOoUMRNkBCVhTb/s1600/Comalat+Detail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIqutelDcBnugjQqHlgmG_Ul0fKcGW0EagrrR_0gOLJMhN-eHYlZ-56KqYDRaW2l8xDwjXohoj896UCiTiBhPSX2IoNkQ99i_0CpXZ3XqbU8WHyBCKXfyUSNOoUMRNkBCVhTb/s400/Comalat+Detail.JPG" width="242" /></a></div>
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One question possibly worth asking: does your building (painting, photo, poem, music, play, work) make the world more interesting, or less?</div>
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mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-10468596151550240982016-02-06T16:12:00.000-05:002016-02-06T16:30:13.144-05:00Back to Barca<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvJFhLA92lzT7wIKEhqAqHPCwqo6AQVniwIM8iV-5UHzFa4P1tkR9ZK987LZzwE9EWIsSVRS92DkCPVd3VZyNYRsrxGY7tOT15CH1ODYR2mi0NLdmKn_ree9ICgwN0y4i3md3P/s640/blogger-image--1782919788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvJFhLA92lzT7wIKEhqAqHPCwqo6AQVniwIM8iV-5UHzFa4P1tkR9ZK987LZzwE9EWIsSVRS92DkCPVd3VZyNYRsrxGY7tOT15CH1ODYR2mi0NLdmKn_ree9ICgwN0y4i3md3P/s400/blogger-image--1782919788.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
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Not a Madrid match or anything, but it was fun to be there.</div>
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Do I have true afición for fútbol? It is fair to say I do not.</div>
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But we were there in the crowd, we heard the beat of the drum, we saw Messi score. And although they blew the lead against Deportivo to settle for a loss-like tie, it was well worth the trip to see Barca on their home turf.<br>
<br>mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33593201.post-17146129971753987462016-02-05T18:21:00.000-05:002016-02-05T18:21:57.769-05:00Bicycle ChandelierMore Ai Weiwei. Who knows something about <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/ai-weiweis-blog">blogs</a>.<br />
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Chandelier sculpture from the 2015 <a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/ai-weiwei">exhibition at the Royal Academy</a> in London.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-hbXXZQMKl20pL3M94JikkKv2h-lYutLn6oZQ3RFRd-lXw-j24WZVs4rLk4720dtrncu72UBa4OIKZRmoguJaPzSy23TjhWp4pdIHAFNAxDIFHP-59CsteVKbZzockmxFCnd/s1600/Frames+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-hbXXZQMKl20pL3M94JikkKv2h-lYutLn6oZQ3RFRd-lXw-j24WZVs4rLk4720dtrncu72UBa4OIKZRmoguJaPzSy23TjhWp4pdIHAFNAxDIFHP-59CsteVKbZzockmxFCnd/s400/Frames+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Constructed from beaded bicycle frames.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJ7sljmBQePXLk4wHxmMQBkK8nNrV5-vwOJoaMZerc0pxijs6PYNFS3csHk5o0y3fGHKZzfRwkXUY13U1RNAMfUfvPcKRqAZTkdlfdwkid2svAn9ecE5sYbXfkvGcoQX9kQkD/s1600/Interior.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJ7sljmBQePXLk4wHxmMQBkK8nNrV5-vwOJoaMZerc0pxijs6PYNFS3csHk5o0y3fGHKZzfRwkXUY13U1RNAMfUfvPcKRqAZTkdlfdwkid2svAn9ecE5sYbXfkvGcoQX9kQkD/s400/Interior.JPG" width="266" /></a> Medium of mobility, not-quite-pedestrian, quotidian symbol of China, dripping with faux crystal.</div>
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<br />mickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16649993680577251988noreply@blogger.com0