On the Street
*****
Letters (to the Penthouse Suite)
#1 Not Dadaist Poetry/Bring in the Clowns/Batman
In what could be one of his last contributions OTS insider Everett wrote to give me answers for a pre-Finals quiz...
Answers, courtesy of Mr. Yoshi.
14. D. density control tool
21. C. Lead mask with a pinhole.
25. D. Section Depth
30. B. False
By the way, I saw No Country For Old Men today. Freakin awesome. I like how the ending wasn't cliche and "Sugar" didn't get caught at the end. GREAT acting. Did you know Eddy #@%## is afraid of clowns? He told me this when he told me how he saw the trailer for the new Batman "The Dark Knight". He thinks the Joker is the just the ugliest. In case your curious, URL below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaIR9dAZRR0
(sin permiso)
#2 La Paz Calling
OTS Foreign Correspondent from La Paz Roberto Guerra wrote to keep us informed of the constitutional hijinks being played out in Bolivia...
(sin permiso)
Yo Jones...
Here's a couple links for articles from today:
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/world/americas/05bolivia.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
-http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/04/8711/
-http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42227
& a little background:
-http://ain-bolivia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=116&Itemid=32
There are way more out there... but a lot are in Spanish. Also... I'll have photos from the counter demonstration in La Paz if you want to use a couple later in the week...
#3 Free Money?
Friend of OTS Nico writes with this helpful information...
Hello friends,
At my job at the American Payroll Association, I came across a state website that lists all people who have unclaimed property/wages. Some of you that I searched have money!
Anyway, search yourself, your friends, your family--you might be surprised! (I had $150 from a job three years ago. Who knew?)
http://www.window.state.tx.us/up/
#4 Absinthe (The Reverend Wright Story That Won't Go Away)
(sin permiso)
Mark,
Hope the party went well! If you came up with any recipes, we're always happy to know of new ones.
If you were so moved by the spirit as to write something, San Antonio readers would be interested to know that the Absinthe Verte is available for purchase from the following online retailers:
K & L Wine Merchants (www.klwines.com)
The Jug Shop (www.thejugshop.com)
Astor Wines and Spirits (www.astorwines.com)
Hi-Time Wine Cellars (www.hitimewine.net)
D & M Wines & Liquors (www.dandm.com)
Morrell & Company (www.morrellwine.com)
Borisal Liquor & Wine* (www.drinkupny.com) *international shipping available
Thanks,
Kate
#5 A Wedding Party Gone Wrong
Michael from Austin shares this with us...
for lovers of musical theater (and I fucking hate musical theater) and failed theater majors everywhere
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1287124/best_wedding_toast_ever_amys_song/
And this, something about "psychogeography"...
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/05/04/where_do_all_the_neurotics_live/
#6 The Only That Is Amusing Menudo Terremoto Williams These Days
(sin permiso)
For shell-shocked Spurs fans this video might be amusing and "inspirational"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQjjvFAf6Q
#7 Not A Whizzinator
OTS Fan Lady Vick sends this video...
http://fun.mivzakon.co.il/flash/20414/%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97%20%D7%90%D7%AA%20%D7%94%D7%92%D7%91%D7%A8.html
Carrot and Wine
To begin, as usual, with an old perspective. If I see that hanging from the ceiling one more time, then I'll be forced to ask questions.
Joan had some publicity in the recent issue of the paper.
These two pieces reminded me of something I would see at Webb Gallery in Waxahachie. But what do I know, according to Fabian's description these pieces draw influence from the decorations on Pakistani trucks.
This foto reminded me of much of the work from all the shows - it was more interesting visually than intellectually, which is not to say the work wasn't good. In fact, it seemed like a very strong showing all around.
Here, still in the Blue Star main gallery, are some interesting layers and implications.
Back at the ranch at the UTSA Satelite Gallery.
There was an unusual assortment of spheres and ears. The ears in a second...
One can almost not see the string and wonder if Criss Angel is behind all this.
A hint of the ears to come, but I'm mostly amused by the placement up in the corner.
The volume and arrangement were impressive.
A closer shot. I attempted some macro-lens theatrics but it all came out blurry.
Here, in the closet room around the corner, a time lapse video shows the process behind the work. This was not a lazy piece.
An incredible obsession with ears - pinna, auricle, all of it.
At the Joan Grona Gallery. Wide screen. This piece was best seen from a distance. On one hand I can't think of the drawbacks of macro-scopic intentions but my feeling is that many want work that can be closely scrutinized.
In the second room were these happy sad paintings.
Familiar but strange.
I'm not sure where I saw this description of Mark Hongensen but it's worth showing.
In the third room at Joan Grona I came across this drunken menagerie.
Anthropomorphism's demise has been greatly exaggerated.
And then back outside. By flying through the galleries it allowed me more time to notice this oddly placed sign.
The honeycomb seems like a work of art in itself. The contradiction was an apt foreshadow of the work inside.
I knocked but no one was home.
(con permiso)
Justin sent in this foto from the show. 3 Walls looks transformed.
At the gallery next door, the Year of the Garden continued.
Fascinating little worlds. Like one of those things that you shake up and snow moves around, except it's larger and there's no snow. It's also more scientific. And the tiny orange cones next to the glass jars create wonderful depth confusion.
Senses of scale were challenged and confounded. This piece complimented the physical sculptures. The combination of 2-D and 3-D created a consistent world.
With some wide angle fotography, the challenge continues.
Derby Daze
That seems to be the "dream" reporter job - jockey journalist. I imagine there's a lot of down time.
Later that night I ended up at a house/gallery across from Green Vegetarian. No, Green didn't do the catering as far as I know. I had often rolled by this house. Though its large corner lot should have made me notice it, I actually hadn't. The remodelling was done with incredible taste. I was told the building used to be some sort of dinner theater. I might not sure if Hal Holbrook ever had been here in Mark Twain drag, but he would have been honored.
To make the unspoken agreement plain - I document, try to have something to say, often don't so I talk around the issue, occasionally offend people, but in general, allow people to see things for themself. This clarity of this contract crystallized when I saw this piece and almost made comparisons to Kafka.
From outside. The mysteries of this house still intrigue me.
Later that night at Patsy's Ice House on Flores just north of San Pedro Springs Park. People often go there and wonder if it could be the next Taco Land. The size and dilipidation are both appropriate and true. Perhaps its the lack of an owner chiding the patrons. Most likely its silly to look for comparisons but I've heard it more than once. It's all part of PTSD. (Post Tacoland Stress Disorder.)
Oh, yeah, this was Game One of the Spurs/Hornets Series on the telly. Rockers and locals hovered around the set while an opening band loudly droned in the background. The mise en scene was surreal. Low frequency aggro-ambience in the background as people stared at the television like George Romero zombies. As the game progressed towards a humiliating defeat, people wandered away and waited for the band, hung outside and drank beer, and talked under their breath about actually having to pay a cover.
Gymkata v2.0/Out of Bounds
The Spurs/Hornets series, oddly, like the Spurs/Suns, series has occasionally veered into discussions of flopping. The obvious reason would be that the Spurs are notorious floppers. And flopping seems to considered an artform with its origins in Europe, like Expressionism. The Spurs are the most international team so the connection has been concretized.
But the Americans have quickly taken to the game. Last night's dead ball flop by Chris Paul, as he pulled some B-Movie gymnastics reminscent of the other Kurt Thomas, was perhaps taking the artform in a new direction. However, if one followed the official narrative it wouldn't be quite as apparent. And for Chris Paul in particular, the flopping issue has not stuck to him hyet.
The backlash against flopping could be considered a reaction to the European invasion of the game. It's difficult to walk through this minefield. Like with many things in sports, it's full of odd boundaries and contradictions. Some people think the Europeans are destroying the integrity of the game with their less masculine flopping. But if the game gets too rough and African Americans are seen fighting each other than this is somehow a shocking display. Of course baseball has weekly fights and hockey has daily fights but no one seems to be disturbed. What all this says about American Exceptionalism, race relations and the original Turner Thesis I'm not sure yet. (More grand un-unified theorizing to follow.)
The Pacers-Pistons brawl received an incessant scrutinization by the media. I suppose it's foolish to then make a connection to the incessant scrutinization of Revered Wright, but that's what we do at On the Street. As a second place blog, untested theories are constantly floated out to the scientific method of public opinion. The fear of 'threatening' black men on the basketball court = the fear of 'threatening' black men in the political arena? The merits, and yes, hope of Obama's amazing speech (which seems like two years ago now) has quickly disappeared. Obama has now practically had to say that equality is here and things are going well. How an intelligent conversation will progress from any of this, including my second place blogging, all remains to be seen.
And how will this fit into the equation...
And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio. As always, to be continued...
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