orange enlightenment

orange enlightenment, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

Finding Beauty In A Broken World: In the Spirit of Frida Kahlo

The fabulous Veronica Ebert, aka lapinfille, is showing two of her pieces in this show curated by artist and art critic Lenny Campello:

Frida Kahlo inspired show opens

The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Farm Center in Washington, DC will be hosting Finding Beauty In A Broken World: In the Spirit of Frida Kahlo.
This exhibition showcases the work in all mediums of artists selected by me and whose work is influenced not only by Kahlo’s art, but also by her biography, her thoughts, and her writing or any other aspect in the life and presence of this powerful artist.

Frida Kahlo's artistic footprint in 21st century artists from all over.

This is the third Kahlo show that I have juried in the last decade and I am floored by the range of work and interpretations that I selected.

in memoriam

the birthday party

the birthday party, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

Brooksville, Florida.

mr. carol and li'l carol - i smoke, i drink

rick dees - bigfoot

The best Bigfoot song I have ever heard.

rex north - oh please mr. big foot! (put me down)

I hope and imagine that somewhere in the swampland there's a saturday night Opry teeming with cryptozoologically-obsessed singer-songwriters of the calibre of Tom T. Hall, writing not simply about Bigfoot as Other but Bigfoot as I. Sadly, this ain't it.

A rat done bit my sister Nell and Space Buddies on the moon!

Slave dogs take on the traits of their owners. A Cosmonaut is doomed to cossack-dance alone in orbit with his Budweiser mascot. The security of American space stations is in terrible disarray. Haunted by the deaths of five puppies during the making of the previous Buds installment, Space Buddies, the latest entry in Disney’s storied talking-dog franchise, offers a cruel vision of contemporary dystopia.

The history of canine space travel begins with the tragedy of Laika, who survied a mere hours into launch. Standing on her long lamed shoulders is Spudnick (the voice of Jason Earles), who begins our tale with a melancollie monologue: "I used to dream of being the first dogmonaut to walk on the moon; and now I dream of going home to my boy Sacha." Russian anomie is quickly dispersed by the gathering of American buds, who leave their owners to unite in a quest to go where no pup has gone before.

A note on methodology. The viewer may observe, Well, dogs can't talk - not in America! The evolution of cinema has fostered increasingly efficient means of anthropomorphism. In this instance, to render the mouths and eyes of children agape in awe and wonder, mouth-shapes were superimposed with a computer on previously non-verbal snouts, and Actors were hired to voice words written by a dues-paying member of the Screenwriter's Guild of America. It is a collaborative effort not unlike that which the pups undertake in their adventure - or folly, as one would have it.

The nearly indistinguishable voice talent (remember, the puppies are not really talking! Otherwise they would be scientific wunderpups and even more exploitable) requires visual and verbal clues to bolster canine individuality. Thus, Buddah (Pushing Daisies' Field Cate) spouts quasi-wisdom along the lines of "You never know how deep a puddle is until you jump in it". Rosebud (Liliana Mumy) is one of them "bitches" you hear about in song and is decked in pink ribbon. She doesn't want to go out in the rain and who could blame her? Budderball (Josh Flitter)'s master is a rich kid who has passed his insatiable appetite down to his furry familiar, whose urges lead him to an accident with a space-food vending machine. B-Dawg (Skyler Gisondo), whose homie is a hip-hop moon-walking white kid, cold lamps the spaceride and he goes, yo, "I would have blinged it out a little." Cultural appropriation gives way to painful introspection as B-Dawg muses during liftoff: "Dad always said I should be a little more down to earth. Why didn't I listen?" Mudbud's (Henry Hodges) owner naturally owns a lily-white couch upon which to splatter his namesake, which may be taken as a metaphor for the onset of menstruation despite the fact that Mudbud's owner is a boy.

These are ingredients for a recipe of delight - or are they? Serve your six-year old niece a single serving of this jimmied cupcake and she will be transfixed and entertained for the duration. But unlike recent examples of class-conscious canine cinema like Wendy and Lucy and Hotel for Dogs, this picture fails to address the current economic crisis. Sure, laugh at how the dog's personalities mirror our own human frailties! Go ahead, sigh a little when the kids come home to find their puppies all gone to the moon! By all means cry when B-Dawg greets Spudnick with a culture-crossing, "fo' shizzle!" Remember that blood bought you those tears, you chief executive bastards.

take a bite out of composition

, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

DCist, a popular local blog, presents an annual juried photography show, *DCist Exposed*, designed to encourage the work of professional and amateur photographers. The exhibition showcases new talent as the artists reveal the city through the eyes of the people who live and work in the DC area. The show is community-based and works are affordably priced to develop the next generation of arts patrons. Music by DJ Ten, Fewsion Media and sound provided by Hedrush Music.

Emerging collectors are invited to join us for *Emerge Exposed, March 3, 7 - 9 pm* featuring a panel of experts sharing tips and ideas on how to begin collecting art. Co-hosted by DCist, the Cultural Development Corporation, and the Pink Line Project.
More information at: flashpointdc.org .

Check out the winners on DCist

*Opening Reception*: Friday, February 20, 5-9pm
*Exhibition*:February 20 - March 7, 2009
*Gallery Hours*: Tuesday - Saturday, 12 - 6pm or by appointment

mad north north-wences

mad north north-wences, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

get down with a hamster christmas

get down with a hamster christmas, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

from the filmstrip HAMSTER HOLIDAYS.

PixTour: brought to you by FotoWeekDC

PixTour: brought to you by FotoWeekDC, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

from the press release:

PixTour brings art to the people who are out and about. Take a walk, have a drink and a meal, and see the art of photography in Dupont, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, 14th Street, Anacostia and More. PixTour is an informal showing of photography on local walls and windows.

PixTour, a project of FotoWeek DC 2008, is showing the work of area photographers at 40 bars, clubs, restaurants, theaters, and shops around DC. The project was organized by Molly Ruppert and the Warehouse, with many photographers suggested by Ten Miles Square.

You can find Ten Miles Square curated shows at the following venues:

Big Bear Cafe -- Cesar Lujan
Wonderland -- Pat Padua
Red Rocks Pizza -- Marie Kwak
Sticky Fingers -- Parikha Solanki Mehta
DC9 -- Jack Whitsitt and Paivi Solonan
Velvet Lounge -- Angela Kleis
Nellie's -- James Calder


Warehouse is also featuring more PixTour at their gallery (with one photo from each photographer who volunteered for the project), along with an exhibit by Byron Peck, famed Washington muralist, with a reception on Friday, November 21, 6 to 10 p.m.

memento mashi

Monster Mash Singer’s Daughter Turns His Cremated Remains into a Diamond.

Los Angeles, CA October 31st, 2008 – Bobby Pickett who co-wrote and performed "The Monster Mash", died at the age of 69 on April 25, 2007 in Los Angeles, California, due to complications from leukemia. His daughter Nancy Huus was at his side when he died.

After his death, Nancy had a .44 ct colorless LifeGem diamond created from his cremated remains. She wears it in a white gold solitaire ring. Pickett was diagnosed with leukemia 5 years ago, and he and his daughter Nancy talked openly about death. “I saw a show about turning cremated remains into diamonds,” said Nancy, “I immediately called my father and told him that I wanted to make a diamond from his cremated remains; he loved the idea.”

On Halloween Pickett used to say “They dig me up every year.” This year for Halloween his daughter is wearing him as a LifeGem Diamond Ring. “Bobby was a minimalist, not elaborate,” said Huus. Her simple solitaire ring reflects that personality.

About LifeGem
LifeGem developed the world’s first certified, high quality fancy colored diamond created from the carbon of a loved one in 2002, to help family and friends memorialize the life of the deceased. Headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill., the company creates the LifeGem in varying sizes and colors through a worldwide network of certified partners. For additional information visit www.LifeGem.com or call 1-866-LIFEGEM.

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY [note time change], originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

[original photo here]

Come for photography, stay for America!

Pat Padua bridges high-brow and low-brow to form a distinctive American pan-browism. He hears the voices cry out from the Western Canon to Justin Timberlake, and, with an arsenal of optical tools ranging from disposable message cameras to the sharpest Hassy glass, he coaxes out the voices with a visual acuity akin to shamanism. "A talented, if quirky, photographer," in the words of the Washington Post, Padua has exhibited his work in San Francisco and Baltimore, as well as in his home town of Washington DC.

For more information, go to: www.tenmilessquare.com and bloombars.com.
Thanks to Heather Goss for putting this together!

That's No Ladies of the House, That's My Wife!

The Hallmark Channel takes pride in providing “quality family programming,” a welcome antidote to the age of irony. But if you scratch the belly of their latest feel-good movie, you’ll find a barely disguised contempt for the very audience they want to reach.

Ladies of the House is an ensemble piece of no small complexity. In a cinematic tradition that reaches from Stagecoach to The Jane Austen Book Club, characters from diverse backgrounds - in this case, from middle to upper class - come together to meet a common goal, and learn something about themselves in the process. The ladies, Rose (Florence Henderson), Elizabeth (Donna Mills), and Birdie (Pam Grier), are led house-ward by their pastor, who calls a meeting of his best donors and asks them to give not their money but their time - and their hearts. Their charge: to fix up a run-down house to raise funds for the church’s day care center.


Florence Henderson has long been an icon of family entertainment, but her activities outside the Bunch have frequently revealed a sensuous side. Who can forget the sultry chanteuse-in-black whose “That Old Black Magic” brought sexy back to The Paul Lynde Halloween Special? What Brady Bunch-admiring pre-teen did not blush when she took off her blouse for Robert Reed in a very very special episode of The Love Boat? Now in her golden years, Henderson still keeps a touch of vixen underneath layers of pancake makeup, and lets it shine straight through her characterization of Rose. She takes a line like “I think an older body is more interesting than a younger one” and embraces not only the words but herself, literally, caressing her torso as she coos, perhaps at the memory of a very special cruise. Rose’s marriage to Frank (Lance Henriksen) is the most nurturing of the ladies of the house, and the best relationship for a Baskin Robbins product placement — which makes their ultimate fate that much more bittersweet.

Pam Grier has come a long way since Coffy and Jackie Brown, and her Birdie fully laments the salad days - “I used to have tone and muscle!” As the movie opens, she celebrates the retirement of her husband Stan (Richard Roundtree). He worked long and hard towards days which he thought he’d be spending with his wife, but now that he’s retired he finds Birdie thoroughly absorbed in a new project. Birdie also happens to be a textbook example of what I call “get-downism”, as she not only teaches her white sisters to get down with the rap “buy it fix it sell it!” but goes so far as to coax out of a boom box the rousing sheet-rock-laying groove “Get on down.”

With Elizabeth, Donna Mills plays to her prime time strength: the spoiled rich girl. But this time she’s got a heart of gold. Her wealthy husband Richard (Gordon Thomson) gives her everything but love and respect. Elizabeth has the farthest to go to find herself, and designer dresses soon give way to flannel shirts and jeans - she even trims down her manicure! Alone among the ladies’ husbands, Richard does not encourage or support Elizabeth’s efforts. In fact he treats her like an idiot who doesn’t know a hammer from a handsaw.

Therein lies the problem with the film. Richard’s estimation of his wife is exactly the filmmakers’s estimation of the Ladies — they’re not called Women, they’re called Ladies. As the women struggle with their assignment, we’re treated to scenes of infantilized women who can barely take care of themselves. Sure they learn and grow into their roles and find a kindly Latino hardware store salesman who treats them with respect, unlike the burly white permit office clerk who laughs them off when they ask for help. But when it comes time for the final exam, Birdie enlists the help of a strong (but soft-spoken) African-American to softly browbeat the burly permit clerk into scheduling the inspection. Sisters doing it for themselves? Not if the filmmakers can help it. Ladies of the House promises empowerment, but if the inner strength of the lead actresses finally evokes great pride in their accomplishment, it’s no thanks to the script. See the Hallmark Channel Original Movie Ladies of the House, premiering Saturday, October 18 (9/8c).