≈I recently {last November} I went back home for about a month, and I found alot of changes and not all to bad, ya know? I love that Urban culture is penetrating the glossy exterior that my city fronts. A friend from Frisco recently was relating how he had a 1st time visitor 2 Miami tell him recently that 2 someone from Cali: "everything looks so shinny! ~& not in a bad way..."

Uhmm....Well, I had 2 laugh cause I guess it's kinda true. The brightest sun imaginable with impossible humidity penetrating everything it lands on ~like it's was a punishment that you have 2 put up with because you feel guilty surrounded by the bluest waters of the ocean everywhere u go. For~Real, {thats if your not in the Keys, cause then your just in them.} I was even laughing @ the wall next 2 the the freeway on the way to the MIA airport {neau 2 me, I think,-built after I moved?} cause even it had like "colored glass lookin" things cut-out of the concrete, Right there on ugly-ass Le June Rd. I may have been laughing, but it was better to see sunlight through colored glass than to see what's behind it: the airlines that have gone under which used 2 have corporate offices in Miami but are still there because they have to have a space to conduct the business of pensions & such. Like Pan Am, ect..

I guess you can miss shit you thought played out once, after enough time, ~Word! At the time of my departure the only thing that had me hesitant to return to San Frantastic was the upcoming Art Basel 2007. I always loved that week along with the Winter Music Conference. I had 2 leave sometime though, my trip HAD already gone from 1 week 2 a couple days short of a month.Primaryflights video for Art Basel makes me smile, cause it reminds me of the under documented urban art scene that creeps all that glitters in the Magic City!

Art Basel seemed to be dope as I expected, it IS considered one of the hugest art shows worldwide. The New York Times has called Art Basel the «Olympics of the Art World». It's billed as "world's premier international art show for Modern and contemporary works, Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. More than 2,000 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars, are represented in the show's multiple sections. The exhibition includes the highest-quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, video and editioned works. " Blahh, Blah, BlaH!

One thing I never would have thought I'd see though would be the artist on the flick above bombin' Miami alleys! Who would of thunk it? They even kicked shit off with my dreamboat Iggy POP playing the 1st night. I've never actually seen him on the mic, only @ the Outback Steakhouse on the beach where my spot was fully blown by a loving friend, which resulted in me forgetting my name like a retard in front of him.

Well, I did get articles & pix from alot of my peeps so if I had to miss it personally then @ least I got to see it digitally from the left coast. Anyway, next week will be the WMC & I'll be missing that as well cause I'm in the middle of movin. I'm on a major grind this year to raise my game. Meaning staying on track is integral. Even though I can make some loot at the conference, the truth is that even making some flow, not paying for where I stay or even any of the Dj sets or partys we end at, ~@ conference's end -good times & not much more is what I'm left with. I just wrote that like that's horrible, no? God, if I wasn't movin' I'd bag that up. Stay focused one!

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The third installment of Printed Matter, a group art show dedicated to prints, including woodcut, silk screen, lithography, relief, etching, and others, opened Saturday night at Giant Robot In Upper Haight.

I really dug the show, but I have an unhealthy obsession with CMYK,  

~so my opinion might be a tad biased.

The pieces where interesting because of the technique behind them. Pieces are printed on wood, book covers, bristol board, uncut sticker sheets, and smorgasboard of ink on paper, that include: etching, lenox, also watercolor papers. All kinds of screen prints, grocco, giclee, and block prints are available for really decent prices.

≈I really dug checking real creative etchings, lithographs, & letterpress pieces, my favorite. For a small show, the creative technique behind the pieces, was abundant, like the rubber stamp & toner transfer piece. Really though, the 18 color screen print with blood added, was worth the trip itself, Teehee!

 

 

 

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The man, myth, the legend. Shepard Fairey is well known for his prolific stickering and flyposting of his propaganda-style images. I am among the many who loves his vector -mixed with well-versed history tidbits images. As the Obey tagline says "The medium message." This week, Democratic hopeful Barack Obama received a significant nod of approval from a popular cultural figure. Oh, and Teddy Kennedy said he liked him, too.







Here’s what Fairey says about the work on his website:

"I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President.
I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a politician. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position (and Hillary was for the war at that time), Obama is for energy and environmental conservation. He is for healthcare reform."

Check him out for yourself: barackobama.com.
Proceeds from this print go to produce prints for a larger statewide poster campaign.

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When the freakin messenger becomes the trickster!

Right...So last summer I was reading up on things to help me with my tarot reading. I noticed that some things in past readings that I had done were actually revealed to me I just was to green to pick them up. Of course it was another Mercury buddy that pointed it out to me. Big up Sadao. Damn Gemini's! Anyway, I came across some stuff that seemed a little to complex but still interesting none the less while I was reading, so I put ink to pad with the main points & forgot about it. It was about the Mercury Retrograde.

So we quickly pan to the beginning of this year, I was about to travel & I fully had to check myself , cause something was off. I couldn't put my finger on it. After some thought, I decided to travel anyway. I know better than to ignore the gut. I may have known better but you wouldn't have known it. I made myself unavailable & missed the fact that a good friend passed away while I was in town, I also found myself in the middle of some silly shit with 2 close friends and it concluded with me losing my wallet. Losing my wallet was a bigger deal than I thought cause I couldn't dip quick enough yet without id, I couldn't travel. Fuck it, One foot in front of the other ~right? When I went 4 my license duplicate, it was suspended!

⇒LARGE is the amount of Listerine I've been using to get rid of the nasty taste from that trip & I haven't arrived there yet.

≈A week & a half after the trip, my laptop {2nd set of hands} took a shit on me and so did my desktop. I also had blown 6 light bulbs in that time. WTF?......I sat there reflecting, thinking how all this was really so shifty, then it hit me............FUCK YOU MERCURY!

Let me introduce you: Mercury, the messenger of the gods, symbolizes mentality: our intellect and mental outlook, the way we think and communicate. Planetary lord of Gemini and Virgo, this fast-moving planet stands for ideas, methods and information, especially as expressed through communication and media. Mercury rules writers, travelers, analysts, magicians, salespeople, astrologers and all types of consultants. Through his rulership of our hands, Mercury also reveals our manual dexterity and mechanical skills and since he's also the god of the crossroads, he governs transportation too: how we get where we're going, both physically and mentally.

Cause if you don't know, now you know! Mercury may be known as "The Messenger," but when this fast-moving orb appears to turn backward in the sky -- as it does 3 times a year or like about every 4 months when Mercury's orbit around the Sun aligns with Earth's. Since Mercury is closest to the Sun, its orbit is shorter allowing it to cover more territory faster. ⇒ a better name might be "The Bitch Trickster." That's because during periods of Mercury's retrograde movement, ⇒ human communication, ⇒connections and all sorts of mechanical things can get out of whack. Since Mercury is the planet that reps communication & motion, when it goes retrograde, there is a sense that movement-based things ⇒ such as communication, travel, traffic, business negotiations, etc. ⇒ are interrupted and slowed. Cars breakdown, calls get missed, or you say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Energetically, it can feel as though the universe is blocking your efforts at progress.

If you're aware of when Mercury is in a retrograde state, you'll have a better chance of anticipating potential delays and heading off the trickster (allow extra time to get to the airport, for example OR MAKE SURE U HAVE ID). Even if this astrological influence wreaks some havoc in your world, it won't last long ⇒ Mercury usually stays retrograde for just 22 days at a time.

Another upside is that Mercury Retrograde periods also provide an opportunity to reflect on the past and take stock of life's little lessons. Since reflection is encouraged, using it to influence u creatively can work in a Virgo & Gemini's favor. The knowledge you gain ⇒perhaps hard-earned can allow you to move more swiftly forward when Mercury turns direct again. You can end up in dicey conversations or get stuck in unexpected traffic jams. After an hour of trying to explain what you mean to your other half, you give up frustrated. Don't be surprised if you often feel tangled, trapped, confused or just fuckin STUCK during this period. The word "retrograde" alludes to "re-do" or "re-think," the theme of retrofitting or redoing can also come up for you. So supposedly, you may find a need to reinforce your life with more intentionality {throw a little intention behind who u do}..... ⇒ strengthen relationships, repeat instructions and rebuild foundations.

Mercury Retrograde is a good reminder that we're not as hard as we might like to think. So LET GO! ~peaceful surrender is perhaps the best tool you can wield during this time. Go with the flow {however whack the flow may get}. Trust me, this cycle has been the 1st one I've been aware of & intentionally let MANY things go as well as the whole "with the flow" crap......Well, I won't front, the quarter was close 2 my mouth more than once from feelin REAL PLAYED! It's a challenge to know full on of unpredictability of life, that type of challenge can humble a sista with a quickness. Tell u what though, better than feeling helpless. Prepare yourself ahead of time by reinforcing your communications infrastructure, take care of business, and slow down and enjoy the mystery of the universe............ANYWAY!

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