Podcasting

Is it true? Podcasting is the last totally free art form?

It is free.

I love my iPod and more recently, I have dedicated a lot of time to the digital download  of several podcasts. The closest thing to podcasting is talk radio. Podcasting may not be an art form, but it is surely the future of radio.

Sound Opinions was referred to me by my bestie. Podcasts are almost entirely marketed by word of mouth. Their popularity seems to be more organic. It’s not based on a big mysterious rating system. Sound Opinions features two well-known music geeks who produce a weekly showcase of music news, feature an artist or a music-centered discussion and then critique new albums. It is inherently interesting and totally gets me pumped about new music. The discussions are intelligent and actually relevant. The most interesting discussions occur around the future of music, and the music industry.

Of course, I listen to This American Life, a program that is, week after week, iTunes’ #1 downloaded podcast. Best described as a collection of small sound documentaries, it is exactly as the title reads, life today in America. Fascinating and ironic and honest.

The last of my top-three podcasts is the newest to the mix, The Adam Carolla Podcast. I have stated  that I was a huge fan of LoveLine back in the day, so the Carolla podcast features the funnier of the LoveLine duo, Adam Carolla. The podcast is essentially a one hour rant. Carolla hosts guests, but he does most of the talking. I am fine with this… in several ways, I think Carolla is extremely smart, and a talented comedian. The man can make an analogy to explain any situation, which is brilliant.

 

So, what do you listen to?

this is still relevant

This poster became really (re)popular a few years ago. Originally, it was a WWII poster plastered in England to inspire comfort during a time of world unrest. Today, you can buy it in a post card, mouse pad or tee-shirt form. I love it.

I also like this incarnation:

And I can see the humor in this one:

banneramadingdong

Inspired by Miranda July’s Learning to Love You More, assignment number 63, I decided to make a banner for a friend’s birthday. I’m pretty happy with how it came out, and it got my craftivity flowing too…

I think I have a project.

But, I’m not sure how long it will last. The other night, I was buying a sub sandwhich, and while a waited for the toppings to be added, I grabbed a copy of the SF Gaurdian. The current issue is their Best of the Bay Awards - where readers and editors pick their favorite places/things/people in the Bay Area (mostly SF), and publish them in the tabloid-like, mostly-advertisements paper. There are tons and tons of listings, for pretty much everthing imaginable. From “Best Cafe” to “Best Paper Clips With A Past,” if it’s considered cool, it’s in there.

So my project is to walk to all the ones I find interesting. I kind of figure, that San Francisco is only 7 miles by 7 miles, and I live pretty much in the middle, so I couldn’t have to walk too far to get to these places.

On day one, I walked 1.5 miles down to “Black and Blue,” ranked Best Tattoo Shop.

My friend, Lindsay, had a consultation there with Idexa, the owner. So I got to meet her and see the woman-owoned and operated shop that is kind of famous in this area. I talked to Idexa about the fact that the Guardian said this about her shop: “The renowned female artists at B&B may not be able to pee while standing (we think), but they’ll man up to the needles any day. Best tattoos in town.” That sort of grossed me out… for several reasons. ONE – how did whoever wrote this know that they all identify as female? TWO – how did they know that they can’t pee standing? And THREE – why do they have to “man” up to needles. Gross. I was pleased that Idexa felt pretty much the same way I did about this.

Yesterday, I walked 2.2 miles to Green Apple Books, ranked “Best Independent Book Store; Best Used Book Store.”

It’s down on Clement Street, in what I would consider to be Richmond? Anyway, it was totally cool. Working in a “big box” store, for some corporate, giantman, I am always excited to see how little indie places run. It’s just so more creative and fun. Everything was labeled with posterboard and markers. There were quirky signs placed throughout. There were interesting books stacked everywhere, with seemingly little order. It ruled. I didn’t buy anything because I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular – and it was sort of over-whelming. But, I kind of think that’s the purpose.

that time of year… yet again

I thought I would get “May” in the archives, by having one post this month. It actually does bother me that a few months are missing from the box on the right. I guess that’s just a symptom of my techno-anxiety.

Anyway, I found this really awesome artist a few weeks ago, Chris Jordan. I became interested in the idea of “retail art.” I don’t even think that “retail art” is a thing, because, whenever I search it, I que up results that are nothing of what I am looking for. The closest thing to this idea (I have in my head) of “retail art” is “consumption” art. Even though, in my mind, retail and consumption art are not the same thing, consumption art is still super interesting. I think consumption art is pretty straight-forward – art dealing with what consumers consume, and the subsequent waste produced by consuming. It’s extremely revealing, disgusting, beautiful.

Cell Phones, Atlanta 2005

Wall of Drums, Seattle 2003 (homage to Christo)

2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of incarcerated Americans in 2005.

Zoom In:

Actual Size:

 

He has some really amazing work over at his Web site – pretty much all the pieces are interesting as heck!

i LiKE WHO i LiKE

 

Somewhere in my mid-teens, I was made aware of Frida Kahlo. Her art was perfect for my fifteen year-old self. It was a time when I was searching for something more than the suburbs and dead-end friends, and Frida’s work seemed so ripe with clear ideas of pain, womanhood, outsiderness, rebellion and passion. Her art was also tied to a greater world of identity, race, politics, thought, sexuality and feminism. It was captivating for me to discover, to study and to (attempt to) recreate Frida’s art.

I think her name is kind of a cliche now, which is really sad. You can pretty much go into any museum shop and buy a Frida magnet, notebook, postcard or mouse pad. Art critics say her work is “underskilled” and “fussy” and that fans aren’t drawn to her work, but her story. I just read an article that argued her paintings and photographs were more about “performance” than great artistic composition.

She is apparently one of the most famous woman artists, with fans like Madonna and her paintings selling for upwards of 10 million dollars.

I still just love her stuff. To me, it is beautiful. She is the center of it – and it deals with issues that matter to me(and that a lot of women can relate to). She doesn’t paint flowers and landscapes and children playing with teddy bears (though she sort of incorporates all three and adds some dead things). She paints her self, with flaws, with pain, with mixed and battling identities. The message is not all I love, I like the actual composition. I like the colors, the “simplicity,” and the “brush strokes.” If you ever see her paintings in real life (I saw one, once, at the SF MoMA), it’s pretty spellbinding.

a fave of mine

One thing I love in life is fast drawing. I find it meditative, or something… anyway, I found this guy on youtube who does some really great fast drawing… amazing!

flickr makes me want a new camera…

(like that would be all it took to get me to take decent pictures). Anyway, I love these:

“Bored…”

“String Theory 02″ Mandolin Strings

“Stages”

hip to be cool.

A couple of nights ago, I went to Oakland’s Art Murmur. The first Friday of every month, a lot of the small galleries in downtown open up, allowing free admission to their spaces and some serve food and drinks. It was pretty happening and reminiscent of a block party. I can’t believe I’ve lived here for four years and had never attended.  

There was definitely an “environmental” theme throughout most of the venues. I wasn’t really surprised, given the current conversations with Global Warming and climate change… it’s definitely cool to see how that translates into art work. My favorite pieces were at Johansson Projects.

Dendrochronograph No. 1 (Self)

 Dendrochronograph No. 2 (Dad)

They are by Kyle Monhollen. He laser-etched timelines into sections of Eastern White Pine Trees. So cool!  

new(ish) hobby

For my birthday (back in October), I bought myself a fish tank. I had one in high school, and decided to reignite the hobby. It’s a lot of work and kind of a pain sometimes – like, another thing to clean every couple weeks. But, overall, I’m totally enjoying it. My favorite part is naming the fish and decorating (and redecorating) the tank.

In high school, I had platies, which, are pretty basic. Now, I have cichlids, which are more fun. They  have personalities, they get bigger and are pretty aggressive (making it entertaining to feed them). It started with Goldie and Hahn. Goldie died . I got White Fang and Jailbird. They all look different, but here’s the basic idea:

So, now I have three, and I think I need a bigger tank… which means I’ll get more fish, and then need an even bigger tank. It’s kind of a viscious and addictive cycle.

Anyway, today my friend showed me this:

Which is beyond amazing. Here is the link for more views of this amazing wonder. (Via Boing Boing)