Cinema Lounge is happening Tuesday January 29, February 26, and March 25, 2008. What is Cinema Lounge you ask? Well, for the last six months I've been involved in planning a film event like no other in San Diego. I've been collaborating with Sushi Performing Arts and Citizen Video to create Cinema Lounge, an event at Basic Urban Bar and Kitchen in downtown San Diego, that will feature film, art, and music. Each months events will be different. This month it's shorts from the Hi/Lo film festival and local filmmakers talking about their work. Next month it's Mumblecore, and we are flying-in Andrew Bujalski the director of indie films Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation. Kate Dollenmayer, the actress from Funny Ha Ha will also be present. In March it's La Haine, a film about three teenagers in an urban suburb of Paris that has recently been the site of a riot. The film explores racism, poverty, and violence. We thought it was an apt subject for San Diego. If you want to read more about the event you can download the press release here. Local bands Kill Me Tomorrow, and The Muslims will also be playing the event.
Cinema Lounge has really been a grassroots effort. It started with Jeremy Gaucher (formerly of Sushi) and Holly Jones of Citizen Video. I walked into the middle of it because I read an article in the NYT about Mumblecore, and it excited me so much I thought we had to do something to let SD filmmakers know about the Mummblecore movement. I started talking to Holly, and I approached the UCSD Media Center and the UCSD Library about getting Andrew Bujalski to come out, and here we are six months later. He'll be here in February speaking at UCSD during the day, and at Cinema Lounge in the evening. Here's that NYT article if you want to know more.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Art in San Diego
I have to get this off my chest: I've been lazy about this blog. I'm sorry! I suffer from a never ending sense of guilt when I fail to get things art related done. I have Kansas City Art Institute to thank for that ting of neurosis.
Moving on. I went to Ray at Night last night, and had a blast. Not so much because of the art, but because there were a lot of people there who were interested in seeing, and I'm assuming supporting art in San Diego.
The Rubber Rose had some interesting paintings by Eric Wixon in their gallery, and I've got to say I'm really feeling The Rubber Rose these days. They are making quite a splash with their little sex-store. That's right it's a "sensuality boutique". What's more important though, is that they support a "healthy and joyous exploration of sex and sexuality..." and that's awesome, not to mention brave in this community.
I've got to give Ray at Night some props, I've heard some negative stuff about the quality of the work exhibited, but I think that's uncalled for. Whatever the quality of the work, would we prefer no work be exhibited? I don't think so. It's a nice little scene, a good place to people watch, and enjoy enjoying art. Remember that feeling, way back when, when you enjoyed art? I'm trying to bring that back, like Justin brought sexy back. Thank You!
North Park was bumping last night. It felt a bit like the West Bottoms in Kansas City. That's an area of Kansas City that was the epitome of urban blight, but was reborn as artists moved into the neighborhood and opened galleries. Of course, real estate in Kansas City is relatively inexpensive compared to San Diego, and that is the single biggest factor in the struggle for a thriving art community in San Diego. It's about the cost of living, and the cost of owning property. If I had money, I'd be investing in the City Heights area of San Diego and starting a gallery. I think City Heights is next on the gentrification list, hopefully when it happens, and it will, City Heights will retain its flavor.
That's all for now... Next: Film Comes to SD, grassroots style.
Moving on. I went to Ray at Night last night, and had a blast. Not so much because of the art, but because there were a lot of people there who were interested in seeing, and I'm assuming supporting art in San Diego.
The Rubber Rose had some interesting paintings by Eric Wixon in their gallery, and I've got to say I'm really feeling The Rubber Rose these days. They are making quite a splash with their little sex-store. That's right it's a "sensuality boutique". What's more important though, is that they support a "healthy and joyous exploration of sex and sexuality..." and that's awesome, not to mention brave in this community.
I've got to give Ray at Night some props, I've heard some negative stuff about the quality of the work exhibited, but I think that's uncalled for. Whatever the quality of the work, would we prefer no work be exhibited? I don't think so. It's a nice little scene, a good place to people watch, and enjoy enjoying art. Remember that feeling, way back when, when you enjoyed art? I'm trying to bring that back, like Justin brought sexy back. Thank You!
North Park was bumping last night. It felt a bit like the West Bottoms in Kansas City. That's an area of Kansas City that was the epitome of urban blight, but was reborn as artists moved into the neighborhood and opened galleries. Of course, real estate in Kansas City is relatively inexpensive compared to San Diego, and that is the single biggest factor in the struggle for a thriving art community in San Diego. It's about the cost of living, and the cost of owning property. If I had money, I'd be investing in the City Heights area of San Diego and starting a gallery. I think City Heights is next on the gentrification list, hopefully when it happens, and it will, City Heights will retain its flavor.
That's all for now... Next: Film Comes to SD, grassroots style.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Best and Worst of 2007
Cathy De La Cruz convinced me to do a best and worst of 2007 blog, so here goes, my personal best and worst.
The Best of 2007:
Best people:
For one long phone call in October where he listened to me cry for about three hours, and for being constant comic relief, the award goes to Michael Trigilio. Thanks Michael! The Complaint Project really prepared you well for consoling sobbing friends.
For listening to me while I figure out what the hell I'm doing, the award goes to my fellow Sagittarius Cathy De La Cruz. Thanks Cathy. We'll make it through this together.
For being generally REALLY cool, and for telling me the truth: Ramlah, Anita, Nick, Jim, Adriene, Adrian, Marie, Kevin, Brian and Kelly, Randall, Felipe, Deanna, and Steven. Thanks guys my year would have sucked without you! (And Zach and Donna.)
Cinema Lounge, folks deserve awards for making it a reality: Thanks Holly and Lynn.
Best Band of 2007: The Red Feathers, not only do they sound good, they are really nice guys. Nice, goes a long way in my book.
The Best and Worst of 2007:
This special Best&Worst award goes to the month of July! July was full of surprises! July shares this award with the Whistle Stop and my friend Whiskey which contributed significantly to achievements of July.
The Worst of 2007:
The Party Crashers! Machismo! Illness! And Jerks! Congratulations, you do what you do very well. May the forces of good always defeat your sorry assess.
San Diego was good to me in 2007. Thanks San Diego!
The Best of 2007:
Best people:
For one long phone call in October where he listened to me cry for about three hours, and for being constant comic relief, the award goes to Michael Trigilio. Thanks Michael! The Complaint Project really prepared you well for consoling sobbing friends.
For listening to me while I figure out what the hell I'm doing, the award goes to my fellow Sagittarius Cathy De La Cruz. Thanks Cathy. We'll make it through this together.
For being generally REALLY cool, and for telling me the truth: Ramlah, Anita, Nick, Jim, Adriene, Adrian, Marie, Kevin, Brian and Kelly, Randall, Felipe, Deanna, and Steven. Thanks guys my year would have sucked without you! (And Zach and Donna.)
Cinema Lounge, folks deserve awards for making it a reality: Thanks Holly and Lynn.
Best Band of 2007: The Red Feathers, not only do they sound good, they are really nice guys. Nice, goes a long way in my book.
The Best and Worst of 2007:
This special Best&Worst award goes to the month of July! July was full of surprises! July shares this award with the Whistle Stop and my friend Whiskey which contributed significantly to achievements of July.
The Worst of 2007:
The Party Crashers! Machismo! Illness! And Jerks! Congratulations, you do what you do very well. May the forces of good always defeat your sorry assess.
San Diego was good to me in 2007. Thanks San Diego!
Monday, December 17, 2007
A little bit of justice in San Diego
The felony charge, against Juan, of assaulting a federal officer was dropped, thankfully, and Juan will not be deported. To all my wonderful friends who took and interest in something I cared about, thank you. I thought you might be interested in hearing a little more about the story so here is a link to a blog about Juan's ordeal freejuanruiz.blogspot.com. From this site there is also a link to some pictures of Juan volunteering in New Orleans after Katrina. This is a really great young man... He makes me feel just a little less cynical and a little more hopeful and that is a wonderful thing!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Please Sign the Petition
I'd like to ask a favor, please sign the petition against the charges brought on Juan Ruiz. Juan was at a recent San Diego protest and bumped into a border patrol agent, he was then thrown to the ground, jumped on by several border patrol agents, and then charged with felony assault of a federal officer! Juan is a permanent legal resident of the US, but now faces deportation to Colombia! Juan does not deserve to be deported. He is an intelligent young man (21-years-old) who was exercising his right to free speech and assembly! He does not have any immediate friends or family in Colombia, and if he is deported is will be a complete travesty of justice. I have met Juan and I can attest to the fact that he is a thoughtful, idealist, sincere person and poses no threat to the United States. Anyone who cares about this country would actually want people like Juan in it. Here is a link to a site where you can read more, and sign the petition. Site and Petition. Thanks.
Dissent in San Diego, Thankfully
I'm trying to be a good San Diego cheerleader, but it seems like since I've taken that position the planets have aligned to challenge me. First of all I'm perpetually meeting UCSD students (mostly graduate students) who say they dislike San Diego, but then if you ask them anything about San Diego, anything about any of the local communities, they don't know what your talking about. South Park? What is South Park? I just don't want to hear people complain about San Diego when they never leave La Jolla. Come on. It's really a drag because if those people would get engaged in the community they could have a really positive impact.
Then I've been disappointed lately by the local NPR KPBS station 'news' broadcasts. It just seems they've been so middle of the road, and in some cases really uninsightful. It seems they've changed their format lately and are now doing more short sound bites where they say things like 'The War in Iraq Continues', and I think 'Wow, how profound !'. That is news these days? It's hard for me to criticize them, because I've listened for so many years and been a huge supporter, but something has changed for the worse. As a side-note, I was recently being considered for a 'Citizen Journalist' position with them, but I think I asked too many questions about their motivations in the interview, and I did not get the job. Something about the whole thing really turned me off. I think it is partially the idea that the media can not represent a variety of diverse and apposing positions all by themselves, they have to hire 'citizens' to give their 'opinions' hence making KPBS less responsible and less culpable for 'news', that could, I suspect, anger their 'moderate' and 'conservative' contributors. I feel like this is representative of something that is happening in a lot of American institutions...passing the buck, so to speak.
The recent San Diego CityBeat article about the crack down on free speech at UCSD illustrates my point. Here is a link to the article Putting dissent in its Place. I was surprised to discover that Scott Boehm, who I talk with on a some what regular basis was mentioned in this article, as one of the TAs who was fired. I was amazed by that because a day earlier I randomly met Jaun Ruiz, one of the protesters from the NoBordersCamp event who was arrested and now faces deportation. Here is a link to the NoBordersCamp site which features a picture of Juan and info about the charges against him, NoBordersCamp.org.Juan is this amazing, smart and pleasant 21-year-old guy who might be sent back to Colombia, where he has no immediate family or friends, because he bumped into a border patrol agent, and was subsequently thrown to the ground and jumped on by about six of them. Meeting Juan and knowing Scott, personalized this issue for me in a way I was not expecting, but I'm glad it did.
There are challenges in this town, more then I've mentioned here, but they're representative of challenges in the world, so I think we might as well face it and figure out how to deal with it. We could all move to places that are more comfortable, more in line with our ideology, but that is living in denial. Let's not do that, let's call it like we see it and claim the place we are in. That is called living responsibly.
Then I've been disappointed lately by the local NPR KPBS station 'news' broadcasts. It just seems they've been so middle of the road, and in some cases really uninsightful. It seems they've changed their format lately and are now doing more short sound bites where they say things like 'The War in Iraq Continues', and I think 'Wow, how profound !'. That is news these days? It's hard for me to criticize them, because I've listened for so many years and been a huge supporter, but something has changed for the worse. As a side-note, I was recently being considered for a 'Citizen Journalist' position with them, but I think I asked too many questions about their motivations in the interview, and I did not get the job. Something about the whole thing really turned me off. I think it is partially the idea that the media can not represent a variety of diverse and apposing positions all by themselves, they have to hire 'citizens' to give their 'opinions' hence making KPBS less responsible and less culpable for 'news', that could, I suspect, anger their 'moderate' and 'conservative' contributors. I feel like this is representative of something that is happening in a lot of American institutions...passing the buck, so to speak.
The recent San Diego CityBeat article about the crack down on free speech at UCSD illustrates my point. Here is a link to the article Putting dissent in its Place. I was surprised to discover that Scott Boehm, who I talk with on a some what regular basis was mentioned in this article, as one of the TAs who was fired. I was amazed by that because a day earlier I randomly met Jaun Ruiz, one of the protesters from the NoBordersCamp event who was arrested and now faces deportation. Here is a link to the NoBordersCamp site which features a picture of Juan and info about the charges against him, NoBordersCamp.org.Juan is this amazing, smart and pleasant 21-year-old guy who might be sent back to Colombia, where he has no immediate family or friends, because he bumped into a border patrol agent, and was subsequently thrown to the ground and jumped on by about six of them. Meeting Juan and knowing Scott, personalized this issue for me in a way I was not expecting, but I'm glad it did.
There are challenges in this town, more then I've mentioned here, but they're representative of challenges in the world, so I think we might as well face it and figure out how to deal with it. We could all move to places that are more comfortable, more in line with our ideology, but that is living in denial. Let's not do that, let's call it like we see it and claim the place we are in. That is called living responsibly.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving and Not
This Thanksgiving I've been meditating on the idea that we really need to be thankful everyday for what we have, and at the same time we need to avoid becoming complacent about things that could be better both in this country and elsewhere. So here are my lists:
A few things I'm thankful for:
1) Friends that cook me breakfast and call me back!
2) My family. My mom. My job. My coworkers.
3) My health, and my friends' and family's health.
4) All good, ethical, kind, generous, thoughtful people in the world.
5) People bent on making things better, or at least trying.
A few things I'm pissed about:
1) The f'd-up health care system.
2) The f'd-up government, and super f'd up war.
3) Hateful, racist, sexist, classist, imperialist, ignorant attitudes.
4) Poverty, suffering, alienation, loneliness.
A few things I'm thankful for:
1) Friends that cook me breakfast and call me back!
2) My family. My mom. My job. My coworkers.
3) My health, and my friends' and family's health.
4) All good, ethical, kind, generous, thoughtful people in the world.
5) People bent on making things better, or at least trying.
A few things I'm pissed about:
1) The f'd-up health care system.
2) The f'd-up government, and super f'd up war.
3) Hateful, racist, sexist, classist, imperialist, ignorant attitudes.
4) Poverty, suffering, alienation, loneliness.
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