How to know if you are dating a sociopath:

The big question is, of course, how can you know whether someone is a sociopath or not? It is a difficult question and even experts on the subject can be fooled. If you suspect that someone close to you is a sociopath, I suggest you read both of the books I mentioned and think hard about it. Compare that person to the other people in your life. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you often feel used by the person?

2. Have you often felt that he (or she) doesn't care about you?

3. Does he lie and deceive you?

4. Does he tend to make contradictory statements?

5. Does he tend to take from you and not give back much?

6. Does he often appeal to pity? Does he seem to try to make you feel sorry for him?

7. Does he try to make you feel guilty?

8. Do you sometimes feel he is taking advantage of your good nature?

9. Does he seem easily bored and need constant stimulation?

10. Does he use a lot of flattery? Does he interact with you in a way that makes you feel flattered even if he says nothing overtly complimentary?

11. Does he make you feel worried? Does he do it obviously or more cleverly and sneakily?

12. Does he give you the impression you owe him?

13. Does he chronically fail to take responsibility for harming others? Does he blame everyone and everything but himself?

And does he do these things far more than the other people in your life? If you answered "yes" to many of these, you may be dealing with a sociopath. For sure you're dealing with someone who isn't good for you, whatever you want to call him.

I like Martha Stout's way of detecting sociopaths: "If ... you find yourself often pitying someone who consistently hurts you or other people, and who actively campaigns for your sympathy, the chances are close to one hundred percent that you are dealing with a sociopath."



WHAT DO THEY WANT?

This is an interesting question. Of course most of our purposes are strongly influenced by our connections and affections with others. Our relationships with others, and our love for them, give us most of the meaning in life. So if a sociopath doesn't have these things, what is left? What kind of purposes do they have?

The answer is chilling: They want to win. Take away love and relationships and all you have left is winning the game, whatever the game is. If they are in business, it is becoming rich and defeating competitors. If it is sibling rivalry, it is defeating the sibling. If it is a contest, the goal is to dominate. If a sociopath is the envious sort, winning would be making the other lose or fail or be frustrated or embarrassed.

A sociopath's goal is to win. And he (or she) is willing to do anything at all to win.

Sociopaths have nothing else to think about, so they can be very clever and conniving. Sociopaths are not busy being concerned with relationships or moral dilemmas or conflicting feelings, so they have much more time to think about clever ways to gain your trust and stab you in the back, and how do it without anyone knowing what's happening.

One of the questions in the list above was about boredom. This is a real problem for sociopaths and they seem fanatically driven to prevent boredom. The reason it looms so large for them (and seems so strange to us) is that our relationships with people occupy a good amount of our time and attention and interest us intensely. Take that away and all you have is "playing to win" which is rather shallow and empty in comparison. So boredom is a constant problem for sociopaths and they have an incessant urge to keep up a level of stimulation, even negative stimulation (drama, worry, upset, etc.).

And here I might mention that the research shows sociopaths don't feel emotions the same way normal people do. For example, they don't experience fear as unpleasant. This goes a long way to explaining the inexplicable behavior you'll see in sociopaths. Some feelings that you and I might find intolerable might not bother them at all.

Brahhhh

Let's put some magic mushrooms in an omelet with tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. Oh wait, I have some summer squash to throw in as well. Season it with cayenne and salt. Drink two glasses of water. Wait. And enjoy the trip. Trip. Trip. Trip. Trip.

AND Mike Huckabee can lick my clit. Okay? Thanks.

Improbable Monument Proposal: The Robot of Love

Meet ROB!
ROB is the prototype for the Robot of Love 1.0.
ROB is a roaming server powered by solar and wind energy.
ROB has a built-in camera that feeds live to his website www.robotoflove.tv.
Beginning in Eureka, California, he travels zig-zag across the United States.

How ROB was conceived...
More people watched the reality shows American Idol and Dancing with the Stars in two weeks time than voted in the Presidential election in 2008, one of the most definitive elections in our lifetime. Is it really more important to know whether or not Lawrence Taylor or Steve-O from Jackass can Mambo as opposed to choosing the leader of the free world? Unfortunately, the answer to that question has become yes to many Americans.
In a time of recession, it is easy to see that people may partake in escapism, but this is not a new trend. The history of reality television dates to the early 1990s, and the networks have seen a significant growth in the market, significant enough to utilize almost all air time to the latest creation in the genre.

What ROB represents...
Mind-numbing television coincides with the apathy of the public at large. This type of television offers nothing of value to the people who sit entranced by the possibility that they, too, could find themselves sharing a house with ten other obnoxious people with the sole purpose of humiliating others for some sort of financial gain. This form of entertainment is the prime example of the watering down of any sense of culture that may have existed in the United States, and most of the western world.
In a darker sense, reality TV is a self-degrading assault on intelligence that permits people to relish complacency. If the American television viewer is preoccupied with which celebrity will feel the wrath of Donald Trump on any given week, then they aren't paying attention to the true reality of the world we live in today.

Why ROB is important...
The Robot of Love is true reality television. ROB will film anyone and everyone he meets during his journey. As a roaming server, he has a built in camera that feeds live footage to his website www.robotoflove.tv.
Reality TV makes up almost 50% of all programming, which is quite significant. Of more concern, it seems that once we settle in for our favorite reality TV show we see and hear little that is going on around us. ROB is pure reality, because nothing is more real than life itself.
ROB mirrors life by broadcasting real people in real clothes on real streets, live to the world.

Where ROB goes...
The Robot of Love travels zig-zag across the United States directed by his built-in GPS device.
ROB begins at the furthest Western point in the furthest Western city, Eureka, California. He ends at the furthest Eastern point, West Quoddy Lighthouse in the furthest Eastern city, Lubec, Maine.

ROB in Eureka, California


ROB in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma


ROB in Lubec, Maine


ROB's gadgets and configurations...
The Robot of Love requires combinations of many different technologies to function completely. These include: GPS locator and mapper, video camera, independent server, solar panels, wind turbines, tractor wheels and a screen for communication.
ROB is made of recycled metals and is completely weather resistant. He is green and produces zero waste, relying on sun and wind power to travel.

Play with ROB...
The Robot of Love is built on the core basis of interactivity. ROB’s video feed is transmitted live to his website of www.robotoflove.tv.
On the website, witnesses and participants can communicate with each other. Space is allotted for participants to post stories of their experiences with ROB, as well as their feelings before and after meeting him.

ROB and the reality of the present...
The Robot of Love allows the public to see what is true and real as opposed to what it on called “reality” on the television.
Everyone is a member of the audience. Everyone is a participant. Everyone benefits from him because ROB mirrors society. ROB allows us to see who we really are: beautiful and unique individuals.
ROB challenges conventional monuments by his constantly moving location, and is never still. ROB examines a cultural phenomena instead of a single occurrence or event.

The cost of ROB's love...
GPS SCI-ULTRALINK= $599.99
Canon Vixia HF200 Camera= $449.99
Unified Communication Internet Server= $500 (plus $19 a year)
Recycled steel= free
003 Stainless Steel Circulator, 1/40 HP Solar Panels= $179
Wind turbine (propeller connected to inverter then to generator and engine)= $2,000
LCD Communication screen= $149
Tank wheel= $200
Labor= $3,500 ($20/hr full time)
TOTAL: $7,277.98 (+ $19 a year for internet)

Can ROB stand the test of time?
To carry out the Robot of Love, ROB must be built, from the ground up. A website must be set up and linked to his server. Finally, Rob must be placed in Eureka, California, facing East.
ROB’s journey across the country will take hundreds of years, if not thousands. He will grant the industrialized world a second chance, by illuminating the absurdity of our materialistic, consumer-driven lives.
If only planting a seed in the brain of each of his participants, ROB can ignite a fire of thought. ROB has the potential to transform a slumber into an earthquake.

Improbable Monument: Sketch and Ideas

Hunting for Banksy

London-native street artist Banksy, has apparently made a trip to San Francisco, California. About 2, or so, weeks ago spray-painted stenciled images started appearing around the city. For longevity and survival, Banksy acts in a clandestine manner, always hiding his face and identity. No one knew of his venture in California until his work started popping up all over the city, showing at least 6 works total. As an avid Banksy supporter, I decided to use this rare opportunity to scavenger the city for his work. I apologize for the poor image quality, I had to use my phone to capture the photos...

The first piece I saw was on Haight Street in between Cole and Clayton. On the upper wall of the Red Victorian building (yes, the one that Jimi Hendrix used to live in) there is large rat, a signature of Banksy, with a long red line circling the second floor of the surrounding buildings. At the end of the red line, there is text written in red spray paint saying, "this is where I draw the line."

The second piece I saw was on Mission Street at Sycamore, directly on the back of Cafe Prague. This piece is a stencil of an American Indian sitting on the ground holding a "No Trespassing" sign.

The third is on Valencia Street at 20th. The text reads "This'll look nice when its framed."

The fourth, and last, piece I saw is in Chinatown at Grant Street. This is my favorite of the bunch. Banksy took pre-existing graffiti of a peace sign and heart on the side of a Chinese bakery and added a stencil of a doctor with a stethoscope. When I was outside the business taking pictures, the owner was installing plexiglass over the artwork in order to preserve it. How beautiful is that?!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish the scavenger hunt, because the process took too long with MUNI. I started at 5 and was out hunting until 9. I hope to see the other two works sometime soon, before the city or business owners paint over them. Every lover of subversive art should spend the time to witness Banksy in person. Or maybe you will just happen to catch a piece while you're out on the town. Either way, it is definitely worth it.

Improbable Monument Ideas

1. City, Wake-Up!: alarm clocks placed in locations of rape and assault, set to ring at the same time each day/night that the original crime took place; clock battery powered by foot-traffic; alarm only loud enough for people walking half a block away to hear

2. Public Pater Purifier: each day, chunks of ice break off the Polar Ice Caps, altering the salinity of the ocean water and its equilibrium. each day, a block of ice the size of the previous day's losses will be placed on top a sculpture. the sculpture then allows sunlight and surrounding environmental heat to melt the solid into liquid and dispensed into re-usable cups to provide drinking water for people walking on the street.

3. Human Robot: programmed to walk down each and every street and politely greet every person it meets

Culture Jam

First, I made a postcard for the U.S. Army using a notorious photo from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Second, I used a basic template from the common "Beware of Dog" sign and changed the language. I would like to create more symbols to use for the template as well.

Vintage Black Metal

Artist and filmmaker Bo Heimlich was featured at an art show sponsored by the Chrome Retail Store on March 26, 2010. All the money made from drinks went to Bikes to Rwanda. Heimlich's work is both frightening and satirical. He draws monster-type creatures on vintage photographs and found posters, as well as adding Kiss-esque black metal face paint to men and women to said photos. At first sight, Heimlich's eerie demon drawings sent a chill down my spine. After thinking about "why" I felt uneasy, I found an enormous amount of humor in his work.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Perched in front of the camera Theirry Guetta is constantly moving. Legs pumping and arms waving, he narrates the story of his rise to infamy in the art world as if no one would believe it. And perhaps we shouldn’t. “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is billed as “a Banksy film,” but Banksy, the notoriously reclusive street artist, appears in the film rarely, only with his face hooded and voice distorted. "Exit" is a film that looks like a documentary but feels like a con and a monumental joke.

Spanning over a decade and several continents, “Exit” tells of Mr. Guetta’s infiltration of the clandestine world of street artists, gunned by his cousin, the Parisian street artist Space Invader, and a psychotic obsession with video-cameras. Claiming to be a filmmaker, the diminutive Frenchman becomes an unlikely accomplice of a movement whose participants share a vandal’s fear of cameras. His continuous escapades cause thousands of hours of tape to accumulate and even land him a coveted introduction to Banksy. When the film stops chronicling popular street artists, it regains focus on the transformation of Mr. Guetta from a mere documenting witness into a street artist himself. Adopting the pseudonym Mr. Brainwash and prodded by Banksy, who acquired the thousand hours of tapes and filmmaking duties, Mr. Guetta stages an art show of what he is ecstatic to call his own work. The event, titled “Life Is Beautiful” garnered a cover story in LA Weekly thanks to statements from Shepard Fairy and even Banksy himself. The show displayed blatant knockoffs and cut-and-paste pop trash that’s fawned over by gullible bourgeois collectors. Interviews with giddy attendees give way to a snickering Banksy, who seems both gratified and slightly embarrassed by his role of puppeteer.

Whether acting as a genuine friend or constructing an elaborate con, Banksy has clearly found a new canvas for his subversive work. Shining light on the commodification of street art and the superficial behavior of many enthusiasts, Banksy mischievously pokes fun at the "next-big-thing" craze and the people who pursue it. Set to Richard Hawley’s underground pop anthem “Tonight the Streets Are Ours,” Banksy's prankumentary reminded me of why I like both street art and culture jamming.

It democratizes art.

It can send subversive and political messages.

Everyone can do it.

Monumental Silence

April 16th, 2010

The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Each year the event has grown, and now hundreds of thousands of students participate to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior. Beginning in 1996, the Day of Silence has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Come participate in an act of performance art at San Francisco State University. The performance will consist of small groups (2 or 3 people) standing in and around Cesar Chavez Student Center. The small groups will be steadfast in intimate positions (e.g. about to kiss, holding hands, or showing affection) for a short period of time.

Here are some shots of what Mary and I came up with...

Life as Material for Art

When using already constructed life, or a metaphoric image representing life, as material for creating art, one must be aware of what they are manipulating, and the possible consequences associated with it. When using Photoshop to combine digital images of various origins, I was cautious of how to add superficial or unnatural elements to other more organic ones. Artwork based on life, like with all art, controversy comes hand in hand with broad publication and viewing. The artist must be prepared to explain the differing components of a work as well as why they were chosen for combination.

Life, either in concrete or abstract enhances any work of art. Art is created by life. Art is inspired by life. So why can't life, too, be art?

A Cyborg Manifesto

Drawing by Elizabeth Bronwyn Wells 2002

Donna Haraway’s essay, ‘A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century’ is an analysis of women and advanced technology in a postmodern world. Haraway uses various illustrations to focus on women’s relation to the technologically scientific world, she uses the metaphor of a cyborg to challenge feminists and engage in a politics beyond naturalism and essentialisms. She also uses the idea of the cyborg to offer a political strategy for the dissimilar interests of socialism and feminism. In her manifesto, Haraway describes a cyborg as a hybrid of machine and organism or a cybernetic organism, created by the advances in technology. She discusses science and the creation of cyborgs, for example, biology teaches us that a Cyborg is the combination of human and machine, many examples of this can be found in the medical field by the use of prosthetic limbs.

Tour d'Eiffel

The Eiffel Tower was erected for the World Fair and it was inaugurated by the Prince of Wales who went on to become King Edward VII later on. The tower was entrance arch into the exhibition and it was the most visited site during the fair. Now, the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of not only Paris, but France as a whole. It is one of the most recognized structures in the world and since its construction in 1889 and over 200,000,000 people have visited it, making the tower the most visited monument in the world.

Seven hundred proposals were submitted in a design competition but it was the radical design of French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel that was unanimously chosen. Some 300 people signed a petition to prevent the city government from constructing the tower. They felt that the Eiffel Tower would be useless and monstrous while endangering French art and history.

La Tour d'Eiffel played an important role in capturing the infamous spy Mata Hari during World War I. After this, it gained acceptance among the French populous. Beginning of 1910, it became a part of the International Time Service and the French Radio has been using the tower since 1918. The French Television started scientifically using the height of the tower from 1957. The controversy surrounding its construction and the use of the Eiffel Tower has made it extremely famous. Today this fantastic structure of iron and rivets is iconic symbol of Paris, the city of love. People from all over the world come to Paris just to marvel at this human-made wonder.

"Monuments as Artificial Memory"

Preserving the sanctity of our nation's monuments isn't as easy as it sounds. Monuments were built as a reminder, a testament to what where we stood historically and what we have fought for. Monuments serve as snapshots of the past that illustrate one perspective of culture, an event or a person. Our memorials and monuments where built synomynously by the ruling powers to honor those who have given their lives to nationalism and patriotism. However, when monuments are commissioned by a member of the ruling class, either bourgeois or governmental, they can be illusory. In this manner, monuments are intended to glorify a piece of history to appease the masses, instead of question it.

Monuments act as bridges to tell of culture and social tradition. For example, various American Indian and indigenous tribes raised totem poles for a variety of symbolic and tactful reasons. Monumental poles were used as house frontal poles placed against the house, often serving as doorways of houses. Totem poles were also carved into the interior house as posts to support roof beams. Today, in Western society, monumental and totem poles are imagined as free standing memorial poles to honor deceased chiefs and spirit animals. While it is sometimes possible to identify different animals, such as bears, ravens, eagles, it is not possible to interpret what the pole really means without knowing the history of the pole and the family that owns it.

Monuments either question or confirm the past. But regardless of their constructors original intent, monuments serve as markers for human memory.

Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of Signs

As an artistic person involved with student activism and the pursuit for a more democratic, equal and humane society, I was greatly interested in Mark Dery's pamphlet on Culture Jamming. I am constantly striving to fuse politics into my work. The art of "culture jamming" throws politics and subversive ideas into the face of consumer culture. Culture jamming represents activity aimed at countering the continuous, recombinant barrage of capitalist laden messages fed through the mass media. To "jam culture" is to crusade for consumer resistance and question mass media and advertising.

In contemporary social movements and protests, culture jamming adds necessary fun and laughter to extremely stressful and ominous tasks. But why and what is the meaning of art and fun in protest? Their are various meanings and uses of fun and laughter in culture jamming. Emotional ties to culture jamming is contingent upon the dominant emotional regime of capitalism where fun, too, is advertised as a key ingredient. In most social movements, activists often reject the fun of consumption and offer their own definition of a kind of fun which is real and authentic; here is where culture jamming comes to play center field. For example, fighting for freedom and equality is only "fun" when culture genuinely embodies the art of protest. Articulating the inherent tensions between 'real' and 'fake' emotions is pertinent to understanding contemporary social movements. Culture jamming is first shaped by the contemporary emotional norms, then contests them and finally reaches beyond them. "Fun" is an important expression of emotional energy because it openly invites the masses to participate. Fun is contingent upon social relationships created in organizations, collectives and other protest groups. But as emotional energy, fun in culture jamming is targeted to a field broader than just protest groups. It is aimed at the larger community and suggests that the individual and fragmented protest actions are nevertheless an expression of a loosely identified collective social identity. Culture jamming injects emotions into social movements. Culture jamming is not only part of a movement but also the driving core of any living, breathing social movement.

Tour de Chance

 

Materials Needed:
-coin
-digital camera

Recipe:
1. Beginning at Market St. and Embarcadero in San Francisco, California.
2. Flip a coin. If heads, you will frame a photograph either forward or backward of you; if tails, you will frame a photograph to your right or left. Flip again. If heads, photograph the intersection in front of you or to your right, according to the previos flip. If tails, photograph the intersection from behind or to your left, according to the previous flip.
3. Flip the coin again. Heads will determine whether you will walk ONE BLOCK North or South, while tails determines whether you will walk one block East or West. Flip again. If heads, walk either North or East, according to the previous flip. If tails, walk either South or West, according to the previous flip.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as many times as possible within a predetermined time period. (example: 20 minutes)
5. Take your total time and divide it by the number of photographs taken. If the number is even, create a slideshow. If the number is odd, create a collage.
6. Flip a coin. Organize the intersections in either the slideshow or collage based on the number of automobiles in each frame. If heads, organize the photos from least to greatest. If tails, organize the photos from greatest to least.

~Special thanks to my blue-haired friend Juliana. She walked circles around each intersection during the process. Can you find her in each photo?

War on Terror Google Earth Tour

Using Google Earth, I created a global tour chronologically mapping the top ten bloodiest terrorist attacks in the world since September 11th, 2001. Eeach event occurred as a response to different stimuli, and was each performed by a different group of "rebels". My trusted Webster Dictionary defines terrorism as "the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims." Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of political individuals and organizations for furthering their objectives. It has been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments. One form is the use of violence against noncombatants, or civilians, for the purpose of gaining publicity for a group, cause, or individual.

View my tour HERE

Take a Chance on Collage

What you need:
- a few magazines
- glue or paste
- scissors
- 8x10 piece of paper
- a penny

Recipe:
1. Toss a penny. Heads= cut something out of page 12 and paste on paper. Tails= cut something out of page 23 and paste on paper.
2. Toss a penny. Heads= find something blue, cut it out and paste it on paper. Tails= find something orange, cut it out and paste it on paper.
3. Toss a penny. Heads= find a plant, cut it out and paste it on paper. Tails= find an animal, cut it out and paste in on paper.
4. Toss a penny. Heads= go to page 8, find something, cut it out, and paste it on paper. Tails= go to page 19, find something, cut it out, and paste it on paper.
5. Toss a penny. Heads= find something pretty, cut it out, and paste it on paper. Tails= find something ugly, cut it out, and paste in on paper.
6. Toss a penny. Heads= go to page 17, cut in shape of heart, and paste it on paper. Tails= go to page 4, cut in shape of star, and paste it on paper.
7. Toss a penny. Heads= cut and paste enough small green images to fill the rest of paper. Tails= cut and paste enough small purple images to fill the rest of paper.

Ready? Go!

Oh Sophia!

This is my hybrid image from the Photoshop project. I combined a still of Sophia Loren, dragonfly wings and various metallic household appliances. The text says "never let the hand you hold, hold you down" and is a statement about the need for independence and liberation. Sophia, as a woman, is corseted by domestic chores and her traditional gender role of home-maker.

Sol LeWitt shoes

Check out some shoes I designed as a tribute to Sol LeWitt. You can buy them online.

March Forth for Hope

SOOOO....

March 4th, 2010 was called as a united strike/ day of action across the state of California in response to the devastating budget cuts to the public education system. K-12, community colleges, CSU's and UC's will all be participating in local events and actions to enforce the fact that the people have the power, not just over their education, but their entire lives. When we rise up for what we believe in, and stand in solidarity with other oppressed peoples, the authority of the government reveals its superficiality. We, as people, have power in numbers.

But as for March 4th at San Francisco State University, many different events will be happening. Along with an informational picket in the morning and soft occupations throughout campus, there will be an arts festival in Malcolm X Plaza from noon to 2 PM. I am looking for confident people who are interested in participating in a performance art piece. This will take the form of interpretive and improvisational dance, however no experience is necessary. Rehearsals are in FA 203 in at 3:30 on Sundays. Also, there is a possibility this piece may be performed in a formal theater setting as a component of the annual Student Dance Alliance Showcase at the end of the semester.

The performance will be to the song Serpentine by Ani DiFranco. Here are the lyrics:

Pavlov hits me with more bad news every time I answer the phone

so I play and I sing and I just let it ring,

all day when I'm at home

a defacto choice of

macro-microcosmic melancholy

but baby any way you slice it,

I'm thinkin I could just as soon use the time alone

yeah the goons have gone global

and the CEO's are shredding files

and the democrans and the republicrats

are flashing their toothy smiles

and Uncle Tom is posing for a photo-op with the oval office klan

and Uncle Sam is riggin' cockfights in the promised land

and that knife you stuck in my back is still there

it pinches a little when I sigh and moan

and these days I'm thinkin I could just as soon use the time alone

cause all the wrong people have the power of suggestion

and the freedom of the press is meaningless if nobody asks the question

I mean causation by definition is such a complex compilation of factors

that to even try to say why is to oversimplify

that's a far cry, isn't it dear, from acting like you're the only one there

unrepentantly self-centered and unfair

enter all suckers scrambling for the truth

exit mr. eye-contact who took his flirt and flew the coup

but whatever, no matter, no fishin trips, no fishin

cause momma's officially out of commission

and did I mention in there somewhere

did I mention somewhere in there

that I traded Babe Ruth,

yes I traded the only player

that was bigger than the game

and I can't even tell you why,

cause you'd think I'm insane.

and that's the truth

and the music industry mafia is pimping girl power

sniping off sharp-shooter singles from their styrofoam towers,

and hip-hop is tied up in the back room with a logo stuffed in its mouth

cause the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house

but then, I'm getting away from myself

as I get closer and closer home

and the difference between you and me baby

is I get fucked up when I'm alone

and I must admit today

that my inner pessimist seems to have gotten the best of me

we start out sugared up on kool aid and manifest destiny

and then we memorize all the presidents names like little trained monkeys

and we spit into the world so many spinny-eyed TV junkies

incapable of unraveling the military-industrial mystery

pre-emptively passified with history book history

and I've been around the world now and I can see this about America

the mind control is deep here, man

the myopia is steep here, man

and behold those who try to expose the reality

really try to realize democracy

are shot with rubber bullets and gassed off the streets

while the global power brokers are kept clean and discreet

behind a wall

behind a moat

and that is all

that's all

that's all she wrote

and my heart beats an s-s-s o-o-o s-s-s

cause folks just really couldn't care-care-care less-less-less

as long as every day is superbowl sunday

and larger than life women in lingerie are pouting at us from every bus stop

she loves me, she loves me not

she loves me, she loves me not

she loves me, she loves me not

and "big government should not stand between a man and his money"

i mean, "what's good for business is good for the country"

our children still take that lie like communion,

the same old line the Confederacy used on the Union

conjugate liberty into libertarian

and medicated associated with deregulation privitization

we won't even know we're slaves on a corporate plantation

somebody say hallelujah,

somebody say damnation,

cause the profit system follows the path of least resistance

and the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked

makes it serpentine

capitalism is the devil's wet dream

so just give me my Judy garland drugs and let me get back to work

cause the empire state building is the tallest building in New York

and I have always got the feeling

you just like to hear it fall off your tongue

but I remember my name in your mouth

and I don't think I was done hearing it close to my ear

on a whisper's way to a moan

Pavlov hits me with more bad news every time I answer the phone

so I play and I sing and just let it ring,

all day when I'm at home

a defacto choice of

macro-microcosmic melancholy

but baby any way you slice it,

I'm thinkin I could just as soon use the time alone

Geo-graphing Project

For this week's project with Google Earth, I propose to fly to each eventful location involved with the War on Terror in a time-line fashion. I have a lot of research to do... So wish me luck!

Google Earth Art & Mapping

http://www.soulcast.com/post/show/79750/Google-Earth-Art-II

This artist browsed Google Earth to find colorful images of natural landscapes. He then cropped them and tweaked the saturation to create stunning abstract images.

The following link is similar work.

http://googlemapsart.wordpress.com/

Here is a short video of Google Earth at work in Switzerland.

http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/entertainment/watch/v14081306HEtXhwfN

Candice Breitz

http://www.candicebreitz.net/

I was at the deYoung a few months ago with my sister and we stumbled into a room upon hearing John Lennon lyrics. The piece is titled Working Class Hero: A Portrait of John Lennon. There were about twenty different television screens, each with a extreme close-up of a person's face. The twenty people were of mixed ethnicities and ages. While definitely not in harmony or syncopation, the people sang John Lennon's first solo album a cappella in its entirety. It was a beautiful piece and moved me to tears during the song Working Class Hero. She selected each person singing in the piece based on how John Lennon has impacted their lives. After viewing more of her work online, I have come to greatly admire Breitz as a conceptual artist.

In Response to Paragraphs on Conceptual Art by Sol Lewitt

As a person interested in art (for I refrain from calling myself an artist), Sol Lewitt's Paragraphs on Conceptual Art struck a chord in my heart. Prior to this semester, I have had limited classroom instruction with a few mediums including film, dance, drawing, and ceramics. I have always been asking myself the question, what does it mean? Either to the viewer or artist? I have always felt confused on the point of "art" when friends, colleagues and instructors create beautiful works that are devoid of any purpose or meaning. "No matter what form it may finally have it must begin with an idea. It is the process of conception and realization with which the artist is concerned. Once given physical reality by the artist the work is open to the perception of all, including the artist." Here, Lewitt stated that the idea behind the work of art is the most important aspect of the work. This is a democratization of art in the sense that all every-person's opinion, point of view and input in regards to the material piece is valid and correct, while value is based on the underlying idea.

"In fact, it is best that the basic unit be deliberately uninteresting so that it may more easily become an intrinsic part of the entire work. Using complex basic forms only disrupts the unity of the whole. Using a simple form repeatedly narrows the field of the work and concentrates the intensity to the arrangement of the form. This arrangement becomes the end while the form becomes the means." I visualized myself walking down a dirt path in the middle of the woods. The path had many different twists and turns, as well as other intersecting paths. As I kept walking, the importance my destination faded away, for an end to the journey was inevitable. The journey itself is what is where the most can learned, discovered, appreciated, seen and experienced.

As for now, I am not interested in my terminus; I just want to enjoy the ride.

Hello, is there anybody out there?

My name is Emily, and I must admit, blogging is foreign territory for me. I am an art major but am still have not decided a core emphasis as of yet in my academic career at SFSU. In all honesty, it has been quite difficult obtaining many studio art classes due to budget cuts and university restrictions. I have little concrete experience in the visual arts but am interested most in fuzing multiple mediums to transform art into an experience. My interests extend to dancing, radical politics, philosophy and social justice. I want to interject both abstract and material thought into my work to inspire social action. Yeah, I'm a dreamer; I want to change things.