Movies I Approve of:

#73.1 - A HAWK AND A HACKSAW - Part 1 by lablogotheque

This is what life is all about.

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS:

Helvetica:





I adore Helvetica. I am probably the target/wet dream audience as I am an unschooled graphic designer-wannabe. (I am also a color-namer, EMT and luge-r wannabe, so...)
Perhaps it was all those little steel type set letters my mom had in her knick-knack case growing up, but that intro bit with the typesetting ranks with the opening credits of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (gene wilder version thankyouverymuch(subscribe for your t-shirt here)) as the purest of visual porn in title sequences of all time (if that sequence of the orange crayons getting made on mr. rogers would qualify, that too). I absolutely gasped at certain sections. When that man explained how he made grids and then drew and arranged letters. Revelation.

I am a typeface appreciator. (also chocolate, and I'll add music to the list) Things I adore that I lack the skills to make myself..


Be Kind Rewind:





I adore Be Kind Rewind. Gondry keeps doing all my ideas before I get a chance. Some kids were inspired to "swede" star wars. So awesome. See it now.


Also:




Genghis Blues (Tuvan throat singing makes me cry), Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens (Brilliant Genius man), Live Free or Die (excellent recreation of a meld of about 20 different kids I grew up with)

Somebody needs to make a really awesome movie about Richard Feynman. Gotta see if I can find that doc we saw in 10th grade science class...

Also, I made a Film/Video Production Reel that can be seen here. I'm working on (or rather avoiding working on) one for the performance stuff...

Stop the Gene Wilder Remakes Page + Timely News

I threw up a quick page for this {yarfff... splat} HERE

lots of interest. big ol' learning curve. It's gonna be awesome.
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wow. talk about timely:

new york post today
time magazine today

The Gene Wilder Conspiracy: t-shirts will happen!

AFTER READING THIS INTELLIGENT, MOUTH-FOAMY RANT, CHECK OUT SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE AT WIREANDTWINE.COM. . GET YOUR T-SHIRTS. TUBULAR.

What. is. with. remaking all of the genius gene wilder movies? What?!? I ask you.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Producers, and now Young Frankenstein is on broadway. The Producers went the broadway and THEN to the SCREEN. Stop the madness, I say. What's next? Blazing Saddles?
Gene Wilder is amazing. Peoples need to stop marker-ing over his work with sub-par shit, or rather anything at all.
Go rent one of these films or, better yet, go convince your local art house movie theatre to do a retrospective.

{oh my god I think I'm making t-shirts...}

{yep... I'm making t-shirts}



{no, there's really NOT a more efficient use of my time at this particular moment...}

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Okay, so here goes:
If you feel the gene-wilder-love and want a t-shirt like-such-as the above, contact (vaganthead@gmail.com, size too) and I will take subscriptions and get a printing done. I'm thinking about $15 + shipping.
If you're not sure, go watch the original and the new charlie and the chocolate factory back to back and get back to me.

ORDER GOES INTO THE SHOP MIDWEEK! GET YOUR ORDERS IN BETWIXT NOW AND THEN.
paypal info forthcoming for interested parties.

Thanks for your interest! Such love for the Gene!

{UPDATE: First guerilla style limited edition printing of these shirts went from worrying about making the 12 t-shirt minimum to receiving orders in my inbox from word of mouth that stretched around the world. Printing is now placed in the able hands of the kind folks at wireandtwine.com where the movement is still growing!}

Fall 08 Ready to Wear: expert analysis

Let me first say, there was a whole lot of 'who cares' in these collections this season. too much black, too much same-trend-as-last-year-tweaked-slightly, not enough effort to discover some new things.


THE TRENDS or HOW THE GREAT FASHION DESIGNER COPY ME:
Lots of plaids and plaids mixed with plaids, plaids with unusual palettes. That's so me. Many many designers showed some plaid. I feel totally ripped off.

Next, the warm rosy reddish chocolaty browns and rusty tomato vermilion reds. Yup, that's me too. I originally stole the idea from costumes in old esther williams movies and then thought it should be amped up in intensity. voila, exhibit a, b, c, d, e and f.

.....elie saab, allegra hicks, akris, galliano,victor + rolf, lacroix......

SURPRISING NEW THINGS:
Lacroix scored huge points for having a great many cocktail dresses with pockets. gold star.

I liked the drama of Berardi's pieces with parachuting fabric expanding out from a tight slim dark silhouette.

Galliano tackling wealthy middle-americana for Dior. So incredible to throw that tacky rich barbie look back in our faces and somehow make us still want it.

"Look look. It's hideous, isn't it?"
- mmhmm -
"But you still want it don't you?"
- {headnod} *blubber* -

There is a lot of this concept in oodles of designers of poking the arm holes farther up in the garment so it's all cape-y and billowy at the back. But, Junya Watanabe's suit adaptations were most interesting, in my opinion. I would like to see what they look like in motion.

And, of course, the boys at Victor & Rolf can be counted on for some strange twist. This time, "NO" popping out of garments in 3D and in sequins. I thought it was a spiffy message after seeing the parade of craptastic drivel that came before.

..........lacroix, berardi, dior, junya watanabe, victor+rolf...........


AND THE BLUE RIBBON GOES TO...:
Dolce + Gabbana pulled it out in spades this season. The palette was gorgeous, the textures were incredible, very wearable, and they stole that whole vintage-scarf-at-the-neck thing from me. That three piece suit is my most favoritest thing of all. Also that sort of barbarian princess evening gown is pretty awesome and unexpected.

Thakoon is the runner up. Nice, similar palette. more plaids. They opted for a more gauzy gray in their neckerchiefs. There were also sequins involved which I liked.

................................dolce + gabbana................................

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As punishment for jumping the gun on the done-ness of fashion week, I will say nice things about those collections that were omitted in my haste.


.........lanvin, vuitton, vuitton, nina ricci, miu miu, miu miu.........

Both lanvin and louis vuitton should be commended for their bugged out structuring without being gratuitous. Mr. Jacobs is also to be commended for making everything look like white russian or pistachio ice cream. He is forgiven for reusing the silly black "hat" thing. And if I must have a black dress, that one's mighty pretty. Nina Ricci had an interesting palette and set of prints that left a necrophiliac sensation. I think the new goth has been discovered; romantic in a rotting corpe-y kind of way. And as far as miu miu, I'm around a 6-8 and will accept whatever is given me.

Success

I just successfully submitted a letter-o-inquiry for a mongo grant to fund making a touring solo theatre piece.
cross your fingers and toes...

Show and Tell

fig.1................................fig.2(top)............................fig.3


fig.1 : This is a link to a project a friend has made using beautifully scarred film footage of me wiggling around in sequins. It's puuuurdy.

fig.2 : This is a beautifully scarred phonto of a new big piece I'm working on for the show that is giving me ass-ache onaccounta the paper is too thick. I may need to build a light unit for it. grr.

fig.3 : This is what it looks like when my face freezes off.


full fashion week run down forthcoming...

the face of progress

framed one..................................................four prints done






beard envy................................mass ave bridge phonto movie


* two days left of whiskerino {tear}
* I'm on last.fm
* some pithy comments by some people I don't know
on "some crazy bitch in a tub"

squish

In the coming posts, we have to look forward to:

my wrap up of fall 08 ready to wear.
it's promising to be quite truncated as I can't be bothered to focus on such unimaginative drivel as I've seen so far.
{that's right, sisters, drivel}

A new bony lil video.
I haven't shot it yet but I'm sure thinking about it while playing nerdy online games involving frogs and tangled wads of strings.

maybe some sneak-peaks of the block prints I'm doing for my friends' store.
that remains to be seen. three down, seven to go.

News that I successfully submitted for a mongo grant by deadline.
again, with the frogs and strings.

sneak-peaks of new pieces that will go in the new york show.
once I shake off the crippling heartache of my imperfection.


so, generally, lots to look forward to,
right after I finally get to the fourth level on that frog thing...

Gray Shallows Unleashed

Here's my baby. The music video for the upcoming 'Gong Lake' album by my friends, Neptune. Go see them on tour. They are the awesomest love.

watch it big on their site.

Stateside

I have returned.

Spent an hour building levees with the plastic snow shovel this morning to prevent the driveway from icing over later. My sweater smells musty from the pink slicker I found in the closet. I've eaten too many cookies in the last 18 hours.
Sweet sweet country living.

Big things in the works.

Check the gallery show @ right (manhattan, baby. what?!)

I'll post the Neptune video shortly.

Freelance full speed ahead. Will animate for wads of cash.
Send those Sugar 'Rents my way.
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A Selected Tour

Kensington Market as an intriguing place. It's primarily a one and two story funky converted residential area loaded with ethnic grocers, produce vendors, gobs of vintage clothing stores and the occasional restaurant and cafe. There are some pretty wild paint jobs on houses/stores which is awesome, but somehow, more awesome was that as a wended my way through the various health stores and mystery shops I came across no less than four establishments pumping reggae into the street. Mind you, it was excruciatingly freezing that day. I liked it.

The last photo is from a production of Alice Wonderland on stilts I saw at the winter festival here, Winter City. The spectacle of costumed characters wading above crowds of folks was neat to see {that a huge, two-story singing lady on the left}. Unfortunately the intrigue ends there. I found it hard to get involved in any sort of story. I did only see the latter half, so I may have missed some magic in the beginning. My favorite part was all the gloved clapping at the end. What a great sound.

2 Photos, A Doodle + A Dance/Cultural Project

There is a whole pile of malarky that goes along with this piece. You can click on the title to go to the vimeo page to read it. Otherwise, if you own a copy of this song, load it up and there will be a:
'ready' 'set' 'start' to sync your song with the visuals.

This is based on an interest in copyright + internet as well as dance performance with headphones that started a bunch of years ago which got reinvigorated by this:



and by the robots on their way to work in the mornings in toronto.

Adventures in Clown and Canada

prequel: So there was this chick. Stage performance was her main deal from age 5 to 18 (when some horrible thing or other led her to believe not only that spending over 100,000 smackers on a degree in a field where one can be turned down for lack of desired nose shape, was unwise, but the whole idea of performance as a career might be silly). Since that day, there has been a smattering of toes in waters, a sporadic joining of a dance troupe or three, the occasional vaudeville piece {perhaps to understate the matter}. And now, after all that time, back to the realization that that silliness is the most happy-making thing and also the absolute horror that it may be too late to entertain the notion of a career shift. Plans are made. Jobs are quitted. Personal belongings stored. So this chick in her third decade quits her day job and moves away from most of her friends to go to clown school; to take certain things more seriously.

transit day: I cannot tell you the histrionics of my digestive system. Such nerves. such waves of queasiness. eating breakfast was out of the question as every weensy bite of oatmeal was almost unswallowable. as divine assistance was given by the bestest of friends, getting out the house, packed, into the car, on our timely way to the train station was accomplished. There were no thoughts of changing plans, just wishing my stomach would stop hurting. queasiness gave way to dizziness. The train came. I got on. one hour of sleep and no breakfast under my belt. I cracked the first smile of the day. The absolute devastation of doing exactly what you want to do.

day one: Fuck aerobics. I spent four hours with an elevated heart rate, doing and watching/anticipating group and solo exercises in a clown workshop. Trying to excel. Trying to be the best when that's not really an option. I mix both the words of the teacher and some male actor my friend was telling me about when I say, I am learning to fail better when failure is out of the question. Clown lives somewhat in failure and how it's handled. I have invested a hefty amount in this endeavor, terrified I don't have what it takes. Terrified I will have no choice but to go back to washing the sweaty socks of performers, handing them props in the wings. No one caring to see me do the one thing that makes me most joyful. Failure would be fairly devastating.
Fortunately, judging from the first day, this will be a fruitful exercise. I trust that the teaching skills are there, I just need to hold up my end of the bargain. Investment, I have. Talent, arguable. The skill to learn skill, I fucking hope so. I can't wait for tomorrow's class.

some different days after that first one: Things are going well. Not nearly so much laughing as you might think. Tears seem more prevalent. Everybody is working hard. Everyday is a new adventure. I'm getting settled into the place I'm staying and getting around town more easily. What they say about Canadians and politeness is true. Holy crap, so neighborly. But after the shock has worn off a bit and I've readjusted my vocal volume for public places, (it's true, what they say about loud-mouth Americans. Surprisingly, I am one) I look at the sea of space-sharing, neatly framed faces and I notice they are all deadpan. Not so much as a person bopping to their headphones. eerie.

So, I'm living the dream. and I'm loving it. I get pissy and frustrated with my limitations some days, but generally I am in awe of life's ability to provide when one sets sights on something.
huzzah.

Inspiration: People looking to make the world a better place

Things that came to my attention this past year (or before but still hold some interest) These are people and organizations that are working to make the world a better place in what ways they can. I am inspired by them.

Recently, the Lakota People have seceded from the US. They will be making their own passports and drivers' licenses. They've been engaged in some diplomacy with other nations around the world. I'm not sure what any of this means or how it will play out, but I find it an amazing exercise of the people.

ImaginePeace: Every new bit of footage I see of John Lennon, I am amazed by the omni-timeliness. The video up on the site is very powerful in the rip your heart out at the ugliness of war, sort of way. The video for the song itself (in the last third of the clip) comes from the same school as the idea that vietnam war images mobilized the people to stop it. This is truth not Hollywood. That being said, watch with care. The first section of John speaking is worth a look. "Everyone knows that the people have the power. All we have to do is awaken the power in the people." - John Lennon

This is a great short film made to educate about 'stuff' and consumption. It's clear and concise. The info about the creation of consumerism post World War II was pretty mind-blowing. I'd love to know more about this victor labeau chap.

The movement toward a pro bicycle culture is fantastic. Hilarious that Chanel is making designer bikes and everyone in fashion is talking about ms. dyne showing up to runway shows on bikes. The folks at Bikes Not Bombs have been not only pro bike for years but also finding ways to interest as well as train local youth in the art of bicycle maintenance. Recycling old bikes, even. The remaining concern is safety in urban planning. I'm glad people are starting to be interested.

David Byrne is making life better by not only keeping an intelligent blog on issues like bicycles and new artists and politics, but also curated an online radio station that always has music that is new to me. I am personally inspired by his life choices and view point. A role-model for how to live life as an artist.

My initial attraction to the archbishop of cantebury was through the planet earth bbc series. He has fantastic diction, and also is a voice for environmental stewardship in the christian realm. His christmas sermon addressed the issue of global warming. I find that encouraging.

Banksy was pretty awesome to begin with, using the public realm to get people thinking through art (I feel like I've heard people talk about trying to do that but this is the first take I've felt has begun to work. maybe it has something to do with the twinkle of illegalness.) His graphic realist style of stenciling is effective in that the figures are clear so that the surreal qualities and juxtapositions are even more potent. Then there's the christmas graffiti on the walls of Bethlehem.

Whiskerino's message of beard-growing is not so earth shattering on the surface. There may be the slightest healthy encouragement of men to be men, but the major impact is the community is creates, both by participants and fans. It also utilizes the contemporary impulse to self-document and makes a group of it. A competition that is won by community building. beautiful.

Learning to Love You More has been around for a few years. It was started by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher and a book has been made from it. Here we have another take on online community building, by storytelling, making activities and exploration and sharing of the human condition.

Vinegar is an all-purpose wonder fluid. It can handle oodles of your cleaning needs, many more than you can imagine. This book says there are 400 uses.



Baking Soda is another excellent overlooked cleaning agent. This one I've known a thing a or two about from my mom. But, here,
another book to teach up all the crap we don't need that we're told we do.



unlike the deadly mixture of bleach and ammonia,
these two ingredients together: table top volcano
so long mr. yuck


My mother Z. Zsido has been working on issues surrounding the Muddy River Restoration Project scheduled for Olmstead's Emerald Necklace in Boston Massachusetts. The concern being the impact of such a proposed dredging and laying down of herbicides may have far more consequences than expected. She has put her paper on the subject as well as further info online.

My sister Sarah Lyon Ph.D. is using her education in anthropology to investigate the effects of coffee economics on guatamalan women. She has taken a number of trips down to study and meet the people over the years and is publishing papers and soon books on the subject.

My friend BriAnna Olson has taken on a project of trying to create a human and artistic exchange between two nations who have some antagonism in the interest to spreading love and understanding rather than the alternative. She has built her own online presence and begun to generate motions toward that goal.

My housemate Brian Viglione (sadly no more as I've vacated Boston) wrote an essay for the Matthew Shepard foundation in connection with the the True Colors Tour the Dresden Dolls did this past year. He shares parts of himself and offers words of encouragement in hopes of easing the difficulties of growing up queer.



If you have anyone to add to the list, please comment and share. Let's get each other juiced to change things to how we'd like them to be.

Sallying

So, some forward progress. I've been wanting to design a bony lil bandana forever and I am finally getting somewhere. It needs some work, but the design is over half-way there.
Also, new monkey suits. This may not mean a lot to many people but alejandro + harriet were thrilled and alejandro insists up having a mustache to go with it. I'm working on it.


Also did started some photoshoots with lil in different costumes. Good so far, I think. I'm using a traditional film camera, so we'll see.
Good times.

Ze posted that thing on his blog. yay.

S'no Fun

In the Snow: keeping you company from Zea on Vimeo.
This is how I spent my yesterday. I made it as part of the Ze Frank 'keeping you company' series. Since I tend to insist on a complete lack of dialogue, it seems I will have to continue to tackle this 'original music' thing. Probably need to invest in a mic better than what's onboard my 'puter. That and some basic arms-making-rhythms classes. Or start playing stuff with my feet...
Video posted on Ze's blog: here

The other thing I'd like to say is that snow is awesome. For many reasons, but today because the sun going down at 4:30 is a bummer, but if there's snow, it kicks up every last scrap of light in the sky, making it seem lighter at twilight. Sometimes, it seems like the snow is a shade brighter than the sky. this place rocks.
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