4professionals
Transferred blogs entries from Myspace Feb. 22, -June 3 2006
http://tarartrat.blogspot.com/
Current mood: apathetic
last call. http://tarartrat.blogspot.com/
peas owt.
-p
4:00 PM -
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
ch-ch-ch-ch-changing over to Blogspot.
I give up, I'm just switching over to:
http://tarartrat.blogspot.com/
for this blog,
I like the crispness, the lack of music, t-shirt, gum, and movie advertising... the lack of peer pressure, heh. can't we all justquit myspace? dump it in the gutter and move on?
adheeo.
-p
email:
tarartrat@gmail.com
it is raining really hard outside... supposedly the mayan calendar ends in the year 2012... I am forgetting how to speak german... Jessica Lange is still quite attractive. we're watching"Normal".... not to break the continuium here't he overlapping blog entry form blogspot:
Irony:
today at he "bread of Life" mission on 1st Ave across the street from Elliott Bay Book COmpany the usual 6 o'clock crowd... was waiting to see if they'd get in for the night... one of them was weating a large embroidered hoodie with "B.U.M. Equipment" written in huge varsity letters on the back...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
bad parenting unexpectedly overshadows would-be typical busride (and our Consitutional Rights)
Since getting a new bike I've been avoiding the bus, travel scedules make me nervous- but today it was raining again just hard enough to make you NOT wanna slosh through it down the hill. So, back on the bus... (which is totally oppressive/depressing) The third stop after I got on a slightly fat yet well-groomed girl in her early twenties dressed in full tight denim from head-to-toe entered with her child, stroller in-tow. She smiled and seemed nice and talkative with the driver at first- but then bus driver handed the transfer to the child, who in-turn tried to give it back to the bus driver- at which point the mother started yelling and knee-ing him in the back and shouting "NO, we KEEP THAT! Don't give it back!" Over and over while half-kneeing and kicking the kid all the way to the back of the bus. That was upsetting to pretty much everyone on the bus and made the whole atmosphere instantly awkward and kind of painful to be in. The mother proceeded to yell a the kid after thay'd been seated "GO AHEAD- say ONE MORE thing- go ahead and SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" The kid was maybe 3 years old- if that. Meanwhlie I'm having flashbacks of all the years working at the grocery store where I witnessed a LOT of awful, borderline-abusive parenting. These are very formative years, of course- ages 0-10 at least, jeez... The "Shut YER MOUTH" method of parenting must completely and totally mess a kid up- I guess I just can't imagine ever being able to bully a 3-year-old... incessantly. Meanwhile back on the (now) impossibly slow busride a guy across the aisle rolls his eyes which the mom sees him do. "Don't ROLL your EYES at me! This is- this is freedom of SPEECH! THAT's what this!" Yep. She said it. Just ike the fouding fathers... that's what she said. A rough but cool-looking black guy said "She's yelling at HERS, not yors- git you some BUSIness!" "All I did was roll my eyes..." "I can parent however i want so don't rolls your eyes at me- that's my right to raise my kid the way I see fit!" (Gay couple nearby- one mumbles to the other "I guess rolling your eyes is 'freedom of speech' too,.. or 'gesture' or something.") Someone else blurts "Alright, people, alright-" whilst mumbling is heard all thoroughout the bus... I finally got off downtown, but... well, felt like I had just watched someone kick a puppy for 15 minutes... and seriously questioning people's interpretations of their rights/freedoms as Amercians...wtf.
See abridged version in this week's the Stranger "Last Days" column:
http://thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=37208
11:47 AM -
Thursday, May 11, 2006
britney effing spears vs. "Be Kind, Please Rewind" vs. the Boogieman
Current mood: effing britney effing spears
NOTE: be warned- this entry is full of bitching and moaning... angst und schreckend
in a brief moment of retailzation at 12:06am my roomate emma and i realized that we had both come across the announcement of britney spears' second pregnancy while searchig for other (actually important) news today. there are billions of women on earth, britney spears is just one of them and nobody needs to know if she is preggers or not. there is so much to worry about that the fact that BBC had that posted its news front page is actually offensive... and/or a crime against humanity... but not quite. effing britney effing spears.eeew...
P.S.oh, so on a side-note... as in contemporary existence weren't tragic and completely meaningless enough... I just realized that it won't be long before "Be Kind, Please Rewind" is a completely meaningless phrase which will be removed from future use altogether... that's just weird. I know it is kinda dorky to write about seeing a show but i saw Mos Def last night at the University of Washington- which as I tried to explain to Tasa "it's kinda like an awkward 8-th grade dance" mainly du to the super-partolled atmosphere where it is almost like you're being forced into having fun by watching the Main Attraction, and Phantom Planet (or whoever those super-scary-skinny-scarecrow-looking white guys with big hair and tight pants were?!?) weren't exactly something you wanted to be forced to watch... but there was nothing else to do- and you couldn't LEAVE but you could do laps around the innner-outside of the inside of the "Bank of America 'toootally RAPES PUPPIES' Arena" which was 90 estrooms. Alas, no re-entry, no beer, just $3 crappy pretzels and other overpriced nacho-esque-ickiness. But I really got into it... like being teleported into a random teen-college movie. You got the distinct urge to watch "10 Things I Hate About You" err- yea. WHY Mos Def was playing here, I'll never know. ($). How he feels about tons of white "bro's" flailing to his music, I'll never know either.($). At least they were enthusiastic for the most part, and many knew the lyrics better than I did.(&*^@..?) Mr. Def seemed happy, though.($) Like a kindergartener at show-and-tell- (but much louder and way more interesting.) By far the most confusing, comical and laid-back hip-hop show I'll probably ever see. Sometimes he'd just had the dj play a song, and he'd kind of dance to himself there by the turntable or rest his forehead on the speakers, wander around "like he was in his living room" (Tash noted) and a couple thousand other people just happened to be there... also odd was the acapella intros to the songs- which basically consisted of a quiet and quickly whispered version of the the first verse of the song before the beats came in and then he'd do the first verse over again... but the actual singing itself.... he's really got an amazing voice. Like, comforting.
May 16, 2006. It is actually getting hot out here. Reminds me of that preview for the Al Gore movie.. no it doesn't. But I find that Al Gore movie to be quite suspect. As Shivani and I were discussing- what's the motive there? I mean, not to be a cynic but does Albert Friggin Gore make a movie about how we're damaging the environment to actually ry to CHANGE things or does he do it to make Al Friggin Gore fell good about Al Friggin Gore's life... I dunno, man, I dunno man, I dunno man, I dunno... I DO know that If anything else bad happens this year my head will probably explode... what the heck. Literally. What the effing HECK is going on. I'd like to be able to blame the gazibo fire the other night on the full moon or something,... I probably should'nt even leave my room until the freakish accidents and happenings cease firing. Alas, that would be dull... ok, I have nothing worth typing about, /hmm.. issara took this the morning after the fire, I assisted Max (landlord) all day in "scraping the burnt part off the toast" err- "hankai house" in this case...
oooh, hellyea: issara quote of the day: "funkin' Republicans are running the country into the fuckin'ground, dude." (to which I thought: "and if hollywood really cared about starving babies and human rights then there wouldn't even be a Hollywood- all the time, effort, fame and money would go directly into saving ______..." Right?)
and this also this made me laugh:
.. width="425" height="350">
..>
12:06 AM -
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
coachella in the desert
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Music
ok, so- ok, yep . coachella was pretty-much goddamm AMAZING, desert, hot hott hoooottt so hot- sweat, water, sweat, strip all unnecessary articels of clothing, kjust like the other 100,000 people who were there, and of all things Daft Punk (which I hadn't seen since 9 years ago in that warehouse in Mannheim, Germany right after they'd released Homework) was the best thing EVER, http://www.randomania.net/COACHELLA2006vids/.html
who knew that a couple of French robots could be the S-H-I-T???, other amazing things: Depeche Mode, ok Madonna is a bitchy diva who only played 5 songs, but- ok, why bother, here's the website:
http://www.coachella.com
so so... back to work... but thanks MANU, Tunde, Valeria and Naida!!!
in the words of this reviewer,(I can't put it any better):
"That is not to say some of the main-stagers were not up to snuff. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kanye West, and Massive Attack all performed predictably entertaining if not overwhelming sets. The exception to the headliner rule, and probably to anything said above, was Daft Punk's mindblowing appearance. Not to get hyperbolic, but people were crying at two French robots. Yes, chemicals may have played a part, but Bangalter and Homem-Christo deserve much of the credit for creating a relentless, dynamic live show based around two dudes standing in front of equipment. A towering LED pyramid; dizzying light show; hilariously choreographed camera movements for the screenwatchers; and, of course, an exhausting selection from their catalogue, sequenced on a seemingly impossible upward trajectory for a solid hour. Heart-attack shit. And for all those who argued Human After All's worthlessness: You were wrong." see: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/features/live/festivals/coachella06/
3:08 PM -
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Anti-TERRORism Handbook (an art show) in print!
Current mood: chipper
"Since first putting out the call to artists for this show a LOT has happened...
Riots broke out, embassies burned and people died over a few cartoons...
Hamas got voted in.
The third anniversary of the invasion of Irag passed...
Moussaoui stands trial as the only person charged for the Sept. 11 attacks (thus far)...
and of course the continuing and dumbfounding Irag situation itself, so it is a lot to try to wrap one's mind around. With this show I simply wanted to let artists put forth any ideas/ thoughts/ agendas/ solutions/ or lack thereof into a single project... enjoy.
TAR
ART
RAT
"curator"
April 6, 2006"
So, the show recieved mention in Urban Pollution this week:
"
Seattle's Art Walk Pt. 2
Written By: Jason Quackenbush
Topic
Seattle's Art Walk Pt. 2
Date
4/6/2006 - 1/1/1900
The OK Hotel is an interesting place, ostensibly a converted hotel for apartments, at any given time the expansive lobby might be given over to experimental post-rock concerts or, like tonight, a four person art show playing with the images and tropes that have penetrated American discourse in the after math of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Most striking are the large spray painted stencils by Greg Boudreau based some of the more ridiculously useless of the safety advice given out by the department of homeland security. The stencils depict tall, thin, featureless white men behaving calmly in the face of terrorist attacks and instructions like "Be informed: explosions" and "Take your Terrorist Emergency Kit with you at all times." Also on display are a number of paintings by the graffiti artist TAR ART RAT, and Clip Art and Found Image art books constructed by William Corr. The best of TAR ART RAT's works on display is a massive painting superimposing images of war machines, the artists face and a half silhouette of George W. Bush whose mouth is absent and in it's place is a large finger. All of this is rendered in blank acrylic on a large sheet of clear plastic that dominates an entire wall; the plastic sheeting of course evoking the oft criticized information released by the Department of Homeland Security that such items should be on hand to be duct taped over doors and windows in the event of a chemical weapons attack. Also listed on the bill for the show was the Artist Davis Confused's work, although it was nowhere to be found." (sorry, Davis- your work was right there-! Hmm. Well if it makes you feel any better, apparently I AM Zacharias Moussaoui- heh, slight mistunderstanding there.) for full article: link
and:
OK HOTEL new website:
Gallery OK/Ok Hotel site
Here are some images of the paintings and the space:
12:33 AM -
Saturday, March 25, 2006
SLOG POST regarding Zombie Rave at CHAC...
Current mood: wierded-out...
Category: Parties and Nightlife
From: Paul Thomas
Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: brendan@thestranger.com
Date: Mar 30, 2006 12:35 PM
Subject: "irksome" comment regarding CHAC explained...
Brendan-
Hi there,
I noticed you had said my comment re: CHAC/rave was "irksome" but just to be fair I printed a slight retraction in my blog on Monday (see below)
but to help better explain where I'm coming from with that comment- I moved to Seattle from Germany in 1998 and, being naieve to most all things here, the closest thing I could find to the German club scene (mainstream life there, mind you) was the budding rave scene here. Nowhere else was playing electonic music. So, I went to a few raves here and there but quickly realized that it was pretty icky and toootally drugged-out. All the "friendliness" and "family" was really just people on ecstacy, and - ok, maybe it could be "all about the music" but most of the people were effed-up out-of-their-minds before they really got dancing... so, all that was a big turn-off and I ducked out completely. I don't know how that scene has evolved in the past 8 years so perhaps my stereotypes/ accustions were unfair, but I was still surprised to see an unusual event like that at CHAC, and before reading up on it I actually thought that the rave scene had become a Zombie-gore scene (also naieve conclusion). I have frequented CHAC on and off since it opened, have shown artwork there. I went to school with Amy Baranski as well as being acquainted with the Art Patch people, so of course I was surprized to see a bunch of raver kids crowded around it late on a Friday night.
Just wanted to let you know,
Take care and keep up the good work,
-paul
Update: March 28, 2006
To be fair, in retrospect, and after a few facts have come to light it seems that the murders had no direct connection with the creepy rave afterall... it seems like it was more of a "wrong-time, wrong-place" scenario... I suppose it could've just as easily been any house party this guy happened upon...
The fact that two Madison Market kids were killed is just awful... those guys were really genuinely nice, cool guys... I used to talk with Jeremy pretty often when I lived behind the market...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002890294_victims26m.html
Original Post:
I've spent the morning thouroughly confused and fascinated by the flurry of news trickling in regarding the murders on Capitol Hill this morning. The Stranger's SLOG was kind enough to post my comments regarding my brief and strange late-night encounter with the zombie ravers outside CHAC...
"Saturday, March 25, 2006
Zombie Rave?
Posted by ELI SANDERS at 01:23 PM
A Slog reader agrees with Dan that the Seattle Times probably has the location of the pre-shooting "Zombie Rave" wrong:
I read in the Seattle Times about the location of that Zombie party and thought, "Hmm, that's funny." Because when I was walking home past the CHAC last night arount 1:45am there were tons of wierd, sketchy, dead-looking, gothy, candy-raver kids crowed in and around CHAC. I was genuinely taken aback because the kids were just completely bizarre one of them, who looked like he was all of 16, asked me where the nearest "beer store" was. Other kids were sitting on the sidewalk all looking like the Crow on Esctacy decked out in black wings and Tim Burton tights, etc. So thanks for assuring me that what I saw corresponded to what I woke up to on the radio this morning
This Slog reader also poses a question:
CHAC is an ART venue. Why were they even hosting this creepy, cracked-out raver event?"
permalink | discuss in forums | post comments (0)
http://www.thestranger.com/blog/
1:39 PM -
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Thanks, and let's do the time warp.. (again?), HOME.
Current mood: listless
Category: Friends
Update as of 30. March: Parents are now moving to Croughton, England- approx. an hour NE of London... images of gray, tea, beer in the mind with Morrissey/the Smiths on repeat endlessly... ok, maybe it won't be that bad. But why the heck aren't they going back to Germany!!! Curse you Bekki for getting Baumholder! Also, been getting busy with the art show so all that crap about me being lazy and unproductive is, well,... just crap. (and mopey stupid crap at that. note to self: snap out of it, drink three espressos and go somewhere you lame-ass!)...
Original Post:
So, not a lot going on I suppose... I haven't been writing much or creating much of anything... this new year has been one mini-upheaval after another, and extremes of dullness or too-much-ness. Is it unhealthy not to try to purge some of that? Strangely January was the month of waiting -then chaos, February was the month of moving (via bus mostly -and thank god for Claire and Nigel, my cousins, who totally helped with the furniture) and being on a bad foot and now March is semi-stable but foot got bad again. Grr, foot. grrr. I took for granted the body's simple mechanics and also the blind comforts and routines of life that are returning in some nice ways. Leave the not-so good behind... Let's just blame the weather, shall we? That' good. But, things are very still and strange and becoming slightly pleasant again. I'm extremely grateful to all the people who I've frantically emailed since the break-up with gripes, woes and whatnot. Nicole, Manuel, Vern, Russ, Nadine, Nina, John, Brandon Evygenia and my new roomates who totally provided all kinds of crazy and at times expert moral support. THANKS! Now it'd just be nice if the heartbreak/foot/Winter time-warp would stop it's infernal warping and the Spring/Summer could kick in...
Everything with these stupid crutches takes longer. Everything- a trip to the grocery store is such a pain in the ass excursion I keep putting it off... and the fact that the # 10 bus only comes by once every half hour in the evening makes it even less... err, well, just more excrutiating unless you bring a book.
Mom and dad are now moving soon-ish with the recent announcement of the permanent closure of the Keflavik NATO base where mom works. I find that a bit sad- after all, they've only been there since last Summer and although they quickly grew weary of the endless dark, wind, cold I think a bit of road-tripping to see more the geological Wunderland that is iceland would've done them some good, so perhaps they'll be able to fit that in... I guess it isn't surprising that the base is closing. It had a 99-year post WWII lease but that was mostly to keep an eye on the commies during the cold war... but now it seems like nobody did/does anything there and that the base existed purely from the obligation of the lease... Hm. Let me be ceezy and sentimental for a second- I really really love that Talking Head's song "This Must Be The Place (Naieve Melody)"
I mean, I guess ever since the wierdness of the Germany move- which I didn't witness, so the house we lived in the longest was dissolved, evaporated, an is now non-existant except in our memories, well- I mean it is just the last (or most recent) in a long line of evaporated (almost mirage-like?) homes... makes for an addicive nostalgia I often try to ignore, but an constanly and sometimes pleasantly re-haunted by... some of this song doesn't make much sense or necessairily have to do with that I'm talking about here, but it's just so gosh-darn nice...
" This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)"
-------------------------------------------------
Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - burn with a weak heart
(So I) guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing
Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up say goodnight . . . say goodnight
Home - is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there
I come home - -she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time Before we were born
If someone asks, this where I'll be . . . where I'll be
Hi yo We drift in and out
Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all tose kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head Ah ooh"
3:42 PM -
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
euGoogleizer.
Current mood: arttistic, wha?!?
this was a would-be art-show idea, the Antiterrorism Handbook won out, so I ended up posting it in the Saatchi Gallery debate forum, feel free to throw-in your three cents.
-p
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/forum/saatchi_forums.php?action=topic&topicid=447
euGoogleizer.
How does the use of, for example, the Google Image Search affect an artist's search for visual content and ultimately their overall image (for example: I need to know what a sequoia looks like but I don't have one nearby to draw so I do a search for one and then choose from one of the first 30 results, etc.) It seems like this exact same tree could easily show up in someone else's painting as well if they did the same... with the first generation of young artists growing up with no memory of a pre-internet human existence, how might this affect artwork in the near future? Or is it even a real concern?
22-Feb-2006
By TAR ART RAT
p.s. "euGoogleizer." is a talented eulogist, or what Derek Zoolander describes himself to be at his model-friends'' funeral... eulogy, google, yea... that's all.
TO SEE RESPONSES POSTED, CLICK:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/forum/saatchi_forums.php?action=topic&topicid=447
Currently listening:
A Love Supreme
By John Coltrane
Release date: By 19 August, 2003
11:51 AM -
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
"Antiterrorism Handbook" in sensitive times of cartoons and polarized madnesses...
Ok, for those of you who expressed interest in working on this show (and those who could still join (hint-hint)) it just clicked that there is suddenly new relevance to the "Antiterrorism Handbook" art show, and especially for those for you who are cartoon-oriented... which is many of you. Also, if writers would like to collaborate with draw-ers we could try to match-make for that...
anyhow, here's what I was talking about:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4690338.stm
gimme feedback, kids.
-paul
p.s. (and if you have any friends who might be interested, yea-yea) if you need me to re-send the original call-to-artists outlining the idea behind the show, well, here it is:
Need a few good artists to each create their own "Antiterrorism
Handbook." Political orientation is not an issue.
For the show I would basically like artists to create their own very
propaganda-oriented "Antiterrorism Handbook" (or whatever you want to
call it) to put across their own agenda on how they think terrorism
should be "dealt with" since by now we are all pretty-well aware of
how politicians and governments have been going about it.
NOTE: See the initial inspiration at this awesome interactive offical
Government training and certification website:
https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at/
You can get certified if you like but I suggest you don't use your
real name. (Just because.) It is kind of time-consuming, though.
The actual physical artwork hanging in the show will be the
images/paintings/illustrations used to illustrate your book- and
whatever other relevant work that comes from the project. Shirts,
prints, whatever.
Your contribution can be whatever you want- but must include at least
some type of physical "Antiterrorist Handbook" or booklet- (call it
what you will, a zine-like or some sort of limited edition original
artbook you could give-away or sell at the opening - your choice).
Artists will be in charge of their own sales and recieve 100% of any
sale of their work.
Deadline for application is Valentine's Day. Space is limited.
Participation will require a certain quality commitment on the part of
the artists to complete the work and the project, (so no half-assing
allowed, k?)
To please send submissions with
-Name/Pseudonym,
-email address,
-and link to a website or a couple of jpeg/pdf/tiff examples of your
recent work to:
TARARTRAT@gmail.com
We will contact you within a few days of your submission. Show opens
on First Thursday Artwalk in April and will be at the OK Hotel in
Seattle's Pioner Square (located at 212 Alaskan Way South, between
S.Jackson and S.Main along the water, parallel to 1st Ave)
Show sponsored by the TAR ART RAT Foundation for the Continuation of Humanity
http://tarartrat.blogspot.com/
Current mood: apathetic
last call. http://tarartrat.blogspot.com/
peas owt.
-p
4:00 PM -
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
ch-ch-ch-ch-changing over to Blogspot.
I give up, I'm just switching over to:
http://tarartrat.blogspot.com/
for this blog,
I like the crispness, the lack of music, t-shirt, gum, and movie advertising... the lack of peer pressure, heh. can't we all justquit myspace? dump it in the gutter and move on?
adheeo.
-p
email:
tarartrat@gmail.com
it is raining really hard outside... supposedly the mayan calendar ends in the year 2012... I am forgetting how to speak german... Jessica Lange is still quite attractive. we're watching"Normal".... not to break the continuium here't he overlapping blog entry form blogspot:
Irony:
today at he "bread of Life" mission on 1st Ave across the street from Elliott Bay Book COmpany the usual 6 o'clock crowd... was waiting to see if they'd get in for the night... one of them was weating a large embroidered hoodie with "B.U.M. Equipment" written in huge varsity letters on the back...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
bad parenting unexpectedly overshadows would-be typical busride (and our Consitutional Rights)
Since getting a new bike I've been avoiding the bus, travel scedules make me nervous- but today it was raining again just hard enough to make you NOT wanna slosh through it down the hill. So, back on the bus... (which is totally oppressive/depressing) The third stop after I got on a slightly fat yet well-groomed girl in her early twenties dressed in full tight denim from head-to-toe entered with her child, stroller in-tow. She smiled and seemed nice and talkative with the driver at first- but then bus driver handed the transfer to the child, who in-turn tried to give it back to the bus driver- at which point the mother started yelling and knee-ing him in the back and shouting "NO, we KEEP THAT! Don't give it back!" Over and over while half-kneeing and kicking the kid all the way to the back of the bus. That was upsetting to pretty much everyone on the bus and made the whole atmosphere instantly awkward and kind of painful to be in. The mother proceeded to yell a the kid after thay'd been seated "GO AHEAD- say ONE MORE thing- go ahead and SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" The kid was maybe 3 years old- if that. Meanwhlie I'm having flashbacks of all the years working at the grocery store where I witnessed a LOT of awful, borderline-abusive parenting. These are very formative years, of course- ages 0-10 at least, jeez... The "Shut YER MOUTH" method of parenting must completely and totally mess a kid up- I guess I just can't imagine ever being able to bully a 3-year-old... incessantly. Meanwhile back on the (now) impossibly slow busride a guy across the aisle rolls his eyes which the mom sees him do. "Don't ROLL your EYES at me! This is- this is freedom of SPEECH! THAT's what this!" Yep. She said it. Just ike the fouding fathers... that's what she said. A rough but cool-looking black guy said "She's yelling at HERS, not yors- git you some BUSIness!" "All I did was roll my eyes..." "I can parent however i want so don't rolls your eyes at me- that's my right to raise my kid the way I see fit!" (Gay couple nearby- one mumbles to the other "I guess rolling your eyes is 'freedom of speech' too,.. or 'gesture' or something.") Someone else blurts "Alright, people, alright-" whilst mumbling is heard all thoroughout the bus... I finally got off downtown, but... well, felt like I had just watched someone kick a puppy for 15 minutes... and seriously questioning people's interpretations of their rights/freedoms as Amercians...wtf.
See abridged version in this week's the Stranger "Last Days" column:
http://thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=37208
11:47 AM -
Thursday, May 11, 2006
britney effing spears vs. "Be Kind, Please Rewind" vs. the Boogieman
Current mood: effing britney effing spears
NOTE: be warned- this entry is full of bitching and moaning... angst und schreckend
in a brief moment of retailzation at 12:06am my roomate emma and i realized that we had both come across the announcement of britney spears' second pregnancy while searchig for other (actually important) news today. there are billions of women on earth, britney spears is just one of them and nobody needs to know if she is preggers or not. there is so much to worry about that the fact that BBC had that posted its news front page is actually offensive... and/or a crime against humanity... but not quite. effing britney effing spears.eeew...
P.S.oh, so on a side-note... as in contemporary existence weren't tragic and completely meaningless enough... I just realized that it won't be long before "Be Kind, Please Rewind" is a completely meaningless phrase which will be removed from future use altogether... that's just weird. I know it is kinda dorky to write about seeing a show but i saw Mos Def last night at the University of Washington- which as I tried to explain to Tasa "it's kinda like an awkward 8-th grade dance" mainly du to the super-partolled atmosphere where it is almost like you're being forced into having fun by watching the Main Attraction, and Phantom Planet (or whoever those super-scary-skinny-scarecrow-looking white guys with big hair and tight pants were?!?) weren't exactly something you wanted to be forced to watch... but there was nothing else to do- and you couldn't LEAVE but you could do laps around the innner-outside of the inside of the "Bank of America 'toootally RAPES PUPPIES' Arena" which was 90 estrooms. Alas, no re-entry, no beer, just $3 crappy pretzels and other overpriced nacho-esque-ickiness. But I really got into it... like being teleported into a random teen-college movie. You got the distinct urge to watch "10 Things I Hate About You" err- yea. WHY Mos Def was playing here, I'll never know. ($). How he feels about tons of white "bro's" flailing to his music, I'll never know either.($). At least they were enthusiastic for the most part, and many knew the lyrics better than I did.(&*^@..?) Mr. Def seemed happy, though.($) Like a kindergartener at show-and-tell- (but much louder and way more interesting.) By far the most confusing, comical and laid-back hip-hop show I'll probably ever see. Sometimes he'd just had the dj play a song, and he'd kind of dance to himself there by the turntable or rest his forehead on the speakers, wander around "like he was in his living room" (Tash noted) and a couple thousand other people just happened to be there... also odd was the acapella intros to the songs- which basically consisted of a quiet and quickly whispered version of the the first verse of the song before the beats came in and then he'd do the first verse over again... but the actual singing itself.... he's really got an amazing voice. Like, comforting.
May 16, 2006. It is actually getting hot out here. Reminds me of that preview for the Al Gore movie.. no it doesn't. But I find that Al Gore movie to be quite suspect. As Shivani and I were discussing- what's the motive there? I mean, not to be a cynic but does Albert Friggin Gore make a movie about how we're damaging the environment to actually ry to CHANGE things or does he do it to make Al Friggin Gore fell good about Al Friggin Gore's life... I dunno, man, I dunno man, I dunno man, I dunno... I DO know that If anything else bad happens this year my head will probably explode... what the heck. Literally. What the effing HECK is going on. I'd like to be able to blame the gazibo fire the other night on the full moon or something,... I probably should'nt even leave my room until the freakish accidents and happenings cease firing. Alas, that would be dull... ok, I have nothing worth typing about, /hmm.. issara took this the morning after the fire, I assisted Max (landlord) all day in "scraping the burnt part off the toast" err- "hankai house" in this case...
oooh, hellyea: issara quote of the day: "funkin' Republicans are running the country into the fuckin'ground, dude." (to which I thought: "and if hollywood really cared about starving babies and human rights then there wouldn't even be a Hollywood- all the time, effort, fame and money would go directly into saving ______..." Right?)
and this also this made me laugh:
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..>
12:06 AM -
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
coachella in the desert
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Music
ok, so- ok, yep . coachella was pretty-much goddamm AMAZING, desert, hot hott hoooottt so hot- sweat, water, sweat, strip all unnecessary articels of clothing, kjust like the other 100,000 people who were there, and of all things Daft Punk (which I hadn't seen since 9 years ago in that warehouse in Mannheim, Germany right after they'd released Homework) was the best thing EVER, http://www.randomania.net/COACHELLA2006vids/.html
who knew that a couple of French robots could be the S-H-I-T???, other amazing things: Depeche Mode, ok Madonna is a bitchy diva who only played 5 songs, but- ok, why bother, here's the website:
http://www.coachella.com
so so... back to work... but thanks MANU, Tunde, Valeria and Naida!!!
in the words of this reviewer,(I can't put it any better):
"That is not to say some of the main-stagers were not up to snuff. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kanye West, and Massive Attack all performed predictably entertaining if not overwhelming sets. The exception to the headliner rule, and probably to anything said above, was Daft Punk's mindblowing appearance. Not to get hyperbolic, but people were crying at two French robots. Yes, chemicals may have played a part, but Bangalter and Homem-Christo deserve much of the credit for creating a relentless, dynamic live show based around two dudes standing in front of equipment. A towering LED pyramid; dizzying light show; hilariously choreographed camera movements for the screenwatchers; and, of course, an exhausting selection from their catalogue, sequenced on a seemingly impossible upward trajectory for a solid hour. Heart-attack shit. And for all those who argued Human After All's worthlessness: You were wrong." see: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/features/live/festivals/coachella06/
3:08 PM -
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Anti-TERRORism Handbook (an art show) in print!
Current mood: chipper
"Since first putting out the call to artists for this show a LOT has happened...
Riots broke out, embassies burned and people died over a few cartoons...
Hamas got voted in.
The third anniversary of the invasion of Irag passed...
Moussaoui stands trial as the only person charged for the Sept. 11 attacks (thus far)...
and of course the continuing and dumbfounding Irag situation itself, so it is a lot to try to wrap one's mind around. With this show I simply wanted to let artists put forth any ideas/ thoughts/ agendas/ solutions/ or lack thereof into a single project... enjoy.
TAR
ART
RAT
"curator"
April 6, 2006"
So, the show recieved mention in Urban Pollution this week:
"
Seattle's Art Walk Pt. 2
Written By: Jason Quackenbush
Topic
Seattle's Art Walk Pt. 2
Date
4/6/2006 - 1/1/1900
The OK Hotel is an interesting place, ostensibly a converted hotel for apartments, at any given time the expansive lobby might be given over to experimental post-rock concerts or, like tonight, a four person art show playing with the images and tropes that have penetrated American discourse in the after math of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Most striking are the large spray painted stencils by Greg Boudreau based some of the more ridiculously useless of the safety advice given out by the department of homeland security. The stencils depict tall, thin, featureless white men behaving calmly in the face of terrorist attacks and instructions like "Be informed: explosions" and "Take your Terrorist Emergency Kit with you at all times." Also on display are a number of paintings by the graffiti artist TAR ART RAT, and Clip Art and Found Image art books constructed by William Corr. The best of TAR ART RAT's works on display is a massive painting superimposing images of war machines, the artists face and a half silhouette of George W. Bush whose mouth is absent and in it's place is a large finger. All of this is rendered in blank acrylic on a large sheet of clear plastic that dominates an entire wall; the plastic sheeting of course evoking the oft criticized information released by the Department of Homeland Security that such items should be on hand to be duct taped over doors and windows in the event of a chemical weapons attack. Also listed on the bill for the show was the Artist Davis Confused's work, although it was nowhere to be found." (sorry, Davis- your work was right there-! Hmm. Well if it makes you feel any better, apparently I AM Zacharias Moussaoui- heh, slight mistunderstanding there.) for full article: link
and:
OK HOTEL new website:
Gallery OK/Ok Hotel site
Here are some images of the paintings and the space:
12:33 AM -
Saturday, March 25, 2006
SLOG POST regarding Zombie Rave at CHAC...
Current mood: wierded-out...
Category: Parties and Nightlife
From: Paul Thomas
Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: brendan@thestranger.com
Date: Mar 30, 2006 12:35 PM
Subject: "irksome" comment regarding CHAC explained...
Brendan-
Hi there,
I noticed you had said my comment re: CHAC/rave was "irksome" but just to be fair I printed a slight retraction in my blog on Monday (see below)
but to help better explain where I'm coming from with that comment- I moved to Seattle from Germany in 1998 and, being naieve to most all things here, the closest thing I could find to the German club scene (mainstream life there, mind you) was the budding rave scene here. Nowhere else was playing electonic music. So, I went to a few raves here and there but quickly realized that it was pretty icky and toootally drugged-out. All the "friendliness" and "family" was really just people on ecstacy, and - ok, maybe it could be "all about the music" but most of the people were effed-up out-of-their-minds before they really got dancing... so, all that was a big turn-off and I ducked out completely. I don't know how that scene has evolved in the past 8 years so perhaps my stereotypes/ accustions were unfair, but I was still surprised to see an unusual event like that at CHAC, and before reading up on it I actually thought that the rave scene had become a Zombie-gore scene (also naieve conclusion). I have frequented CHAC on and off since it opened, have shown artwork there. I went to school with Amy Baranski as well as being acquainted with the Art Patch people, so of course I was surprized to see a bunch of raver kids crowded around it late on a Friday night.
Just wanted to let you know,
Take care and keep up the good work,
-paul
Update: March 28, 2006
To be fair, in retrospect, and after a few facts have come to light it seems that the murders had no direct connection with the creepy rave afterall... it seems like it was more of a "wrong-time, wrong-place" scenario... I suppose it could've just as easily been any house party this guy happened upon...
The fact that two Madison Market kids were killed is just awful... those guys were really genuinely nice, cool guys... I used to talk with Jeremy pretty often when I lived behind the market...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002890294_victims26m.html
Original Post:
I've spent the morning thouroughly confused and fascinated by the flurry of news trickling in regarding the murders on Capitol Hill this morning. The Stranger's SLOG was kind enough to post my comments regarding my brief and strange late-night encounter with the zombie ravers outside CHAC...
"Saturday, March 25, 2006
Zombie Rave?
Posted by ELI SANDERS at 01:23 PM
A Slog reader agrees with Dan that the Seattle Times probably has the location of the pre-shooting "Zombie Rave" wrong:
I read in the Seattle Times about the location of that Zombie party and thought, "Hmm, that's funny." Because when I was walking home past the CHAC last night arount 1:45am there were tons of wierd, sketchy, dead-looking, gothy, candy-raver kids crowed in and around CHAC. I was genuinely taken aback because the kids were just completely bizarre one of them, who looked like he was all of 16, asked me where the nearest "beer store" was. Other kids were sitting on the sidewalk all looking like the Crow on Esctacy decked out in black wings and Tim Burton tights, etc. So thanks for assuring me that what I saw corresponded to what I woke up to on the radio this morning
This Slog reader also poses a question:
CHAC is an ART venue. Why were they even hosting this creepy, cracked-out raver event?"
permalink | discuss in forums | post comments (0)
http://www.thestranger.com/blog/
1:39 PM -
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Thanks, and let's do the time warp.. (again?), HOME.
Current mood: listless
Category: Friends
Update as of 30. March: Parents are now moving to Croughton, England- approx. an hour NE of London... images of gray, tea, beer in the mind with Morrissey/the Smiths on repeat endlessly... ok, maybe it won't be that bad. But why the heck aren't they going back to Germany!!! Curse you Bekki for getting Baumholder! Also, been getting busy with the art show so all that crap about me being lazy and unproductive is, well,... just crap. (and mopey stupid crap at that. note to self: snap out of it, drink three espressos and go somewhere you lame-ass!)...
Original Post:
So, not a lot going on I suppose... I haven't been writing much or creating much of anything... this new year has been one mini-upheaval after another, and extremes of dullness or too-much-ness. Is it unhealthy not to try to purge some of that? Strangely January was the month of waiting -then chaos, February was the month of moving (via bus mostly -and thank god for Claire and Nigel, my cousins, who totally helped with the furniture) and being on a bad foot and now March is semi-stable but foot got bad again. Grr, foot. grrr. I took for granted the body's simple mechanics and also the blind comforts and routines of life that are returning in some nice ways. Leave the not-so good behind... Let's just blame the weather, shall we? That' good. But, things are very still and strange and becoming slightly pleasant again. I'm extremely grateful to all the people who I've frantically emailed since the break-up with gripes, woes and whatnot. Nicole, Manuel, Vern, Russ, Nadine, Nina, John, Brandon Evygenia and my new roomates who totally provided all kinds of crazy and at times expert moral support. THANKS! Now it'd just be nice if the heartbreak/foot/Winter time-warp would stop it's infernal warping and the Spring/Summer could kick in...
Everything with these stupid crutches takes longer. Everything- a trip to the grocery store is such a pain in the ass excursion I keep putting it off... and the fact that the # 10 bus only comes by once every half hour in the evening makes it even less... err, well, just more excrutiating unless you bring a book.
Mom and dad are now moving soon-ish with the recent announcement of the permanent closure of the Keflavik NATO base where mom works. I find that a bit sad- after all, they've only been there since last Summer and although they quickly grew weary of the endless dark, wind, cold I think a bit of road-tripping to see more the geological Wunderland that is iceland would've done them some good, so perhaps they'll be able to fit that in... I guess it isn't surprising that the base is closing. It had a 99-year post WWII lease but that was mostly to keep an eye on the commies during the cold war... but now it seems like nobody did/does anything there and that the base existed purely from the obligation of the lease... Hm. Let me be ceezy and sentimental for a second- I really really love that Talking Head's song "This Must Be The Place (Naieve Melody)"
I mean, I guess ever since the wierdness of the Germany move- which I didn't witness, so the house we lived in the longest was dissolved, evaporated, an is now non-existant except in our memories, well- I mean it is just the last (or most recent) in a long line of evaporated (almost mirage-like?) homes... makes for an addicive nostalgia I often try to ignore, but an constanly and sometimes pleasantly re-haunted by... some of this song doesn't make much sense or necessairily have to do with that I'm talking about here, but it's just so gosh-darn nice...
" This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)"
-------------------------------------------------
Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - burn with a weak heart
(So I) guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing
Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up say goodnight . . . say goodnight
Home - is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there
I come home - -she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time Before we were born
If someone asks, this where I'll be . . . where I'll be
Hi yo We drift in and out
Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all tose kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head Ah ooh"
3:42 PM -
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
euGoogleizer.
Current mood: arttistic, wha?!?
this was a would-be art-show idea, the Antiterrorism Handbook won out, so I ended up posting it in the Saatchi Gallery debate forum, feel free to throw-in your three cents.
-p
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/forum/saatchi_forums.php?action=topic&topicid=447
euGoogleizer.
How does the use of, for example, the Google Image Search affect an artist's search for visual content and ultimately their overall image (for example: I need to know what a sequoia looks like but I don't have one nearby to draw so I do a search for one and then choose from one of the first 30 results, etc.) It seems like this exact same tree could easily show up in someone else's painting as well if they did the same... with the first generation of young artists growing up with no memory of a pre-internet human existence, how might this affect artwork in the near future? Or is it even a real concern?
22-Feb-2006
By TAR ART RAT
p.s. "euGoogleizer." is a talented eulogist, or what Derek Zoolander describes himself to be at his model-friends'' funeral... eulogy, google, yea... that's all.
TO SEE RESPONSES POSTED, CLICK:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/forum/saatchi_forums.php?action=topic&topicid=447
Currently listening:
A Love Supreme
By John Coltrane
Release date: By 19 August, 2003
11:51 AM -
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
"Antiterrorism Handbook" in sensitive times of cartoons and polarized madnesses...
Ok, for those of you who expressed interest in working on this show (and those who could still join (hint-hint)) it just clicked that there is suddenly new relevance to the "Antiterrorism Handbook" art show, and especially for those for you who are cartoon-oriented... which is many of you. Also, if writers would like to collaborate with draw-ers we could try to match-make for that...
anyhow, here's what I was talking about:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4690338.stm
gimme feedback, kids.
-paul
p.s. (and if you have any friends who might be interested, yea-yea) if you need me to re-send the original call-to-artists outlining the idea behind the show, well, here it is:
Need a few good artists to each create their own "Antiterrorism
Handbook." Political orientation is not an issue.
For the show I would basically like artists to create their own very
propaganda-oriented "Antiterrorism Handbook" (or whatever you want to
call it) to put across their own agenda on how they think terrorism
should be "dealt with" since by now we are all pretty-well aware of
how politicians and governments have been going about it.
NOTE: See the initial inspiration at this awesome interactive offical
Government training and certification website:
https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at/
You can get certified if you like but I suggest you don't use your
real name. (Just because.) It is kind of time-consuming, though.
The actual physical artwork hanging in the show will be the
images/paintings/illustrations used to illustrate your book- and
whatever other relevant work that comes from the project. Shirts,
prints, whatever.
Your contribution can be whatever you want- but must include at least
some type of physical "Antiterrorist Handbook" or booklet- (call it
what you will, a zine-like or some sort of limited edition original
artbook you could give-away or sell at the opening - your choice).
Artists will be in charge of their own sales and recieve 100% of any
sale of their work.
Deadline for application is Valentine's Day. Space is limited.
Participation will require a certain quality commitment on the part of
the artists to complete the work and the project, (so no half-assing
allowed, k?)
To please send submissions with
-Name/Pseudonym,
-email address,
-and link to a website or a couple of jpeg/pdf/tiff examples of your
recent work to:
TARARTRAT@gmail.com
We will contact you within a few days of your submission. Show opens
on First Thursday Artwalk in April and will be at the OK Hotel in
Seattle's Pioner Square (located at 212 Alaskan Way South, between
S.Jackson and S.Main along the water, parallel to 1st Ave)
Show sponsored by the TAR ART RAT Foundation for the Continuation of Humanity
posted by "Post-Google" by TAR ART RAT at 2:44 am
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