Okay, I've been unfaithful!

I have revived the Black Rock Arts Foundation blog that Hale started a couple of years ago (thanks Hale for leaving such a strong legacy).

Some of my material will be familiar to you because it had it's first life right on these pages.

I also administer a couple of photo groups on flickr:

www.flickr.com/groups/braf/

www.flickr.com/groups/hom...rossanjose/

So come and visit often.

For now I will still be blogging about movies and books and my personal life here, but on the BRAF blog I will be blogging about the BRAF projects, grantees, why temporary art....

blackrockarts.blogspot.com/

Allen Ginsberg: An Elegy

Facinating movie!

Much poetry, much beat, open discussion of LSD and various other drugs, he got to sing his poetry with Paul McCartney, but my favorite moment was when he called William F. Buckley a Bircher (a term you don't see much anymore) and himself a faggot individualist in 1968. Talk about out of the closet.

YIPPEE for radical self expression!

his true love, Peter Orlovsky

photo: Elsa Dorfman

The Last Weekend of the Monkeys

Come and see them swing

Woz way and San Carlos Avenue on the lawn of the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose

www.youtube.com/watch

photo: Golddust

Viridana, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Zeitgeist, the Saloon, Stinking Rose

First we ran into Anne and and Meody at Zeitgeist , Anne is Ali Baba's roomate and she mentioned the Stinking Rose so MonkeyBoy and I went there to eat it sounded so good, and ran into Anne again as we were going out the door, so Anne and MonkeyBoy and I went for a beer at the Saloon and checked out the music.. Very fun, she is a sweetie.

Viridiana: Surreal satire, weirdest movie I have ever seen

Indiana Jones: FUN, FUN, FUN, not the best movie ever but entertaining

IronMan: Not so much. Too long, too warish (yes I know that was the point),

Koilos

Koilos by Michael Christian is being displayed by the Hayes Valley Art Coaltion on the Hayes Street Green, now known as "Patricia's Green".

In 2005, when the Green was dedicated, the San Francisco Art Commission asked the Black Rock Arts Foundation for its support in helping David Best and his crew build a temporary installation in the spirit of the Temples they had been building at Burning Man for several years. Since then several temporary pieces of art have graced Patricia's Green.

I think Kolios looks fabulous here!

sfciviccenter.blogspot.com/2008....html

In addition there have been several other temporary art installations on Patricia's Green:

www.patriciawalkup.org/green.html
www.thewowhaus.com/CURRENT/...golf.html
www.flickr.com/photos/emi.../299844285/

photo: sfmike

Air is Coming, Air is Coming

Elemental Interactions: AIR!

"If winds are the spirit of the sky's ocean, the clouds are the texture. Their is easily the most uninhibited dominion of the earth. Nothing in physical shape is too fantastic for them. They can be round as apples or as fine as string, as dense as a jungle, as wispy as a whiff of down, as mild as puddle water or as potent as the belch of a volcano. Some are thunderous anvils formed by violent up drafts from the warm earth. Some are ragged coattails of storms that have passed. Some are stagnant blankets of warm air resting on cold. I have seen clouds in the dawn that looked like a pink Sultan with his pale harem maidens and a yellow slob of eunuch lolling impotent in the background."

- Guy Murchie (Song of the Sky)

We're pleased to announce the second event in our new lecture series, Elemental Interactions. In appreciation of our members and donors, we've designed these informal evenings to explore topics of art, science and civic participation. Enjoy demos, talks and performances at the eclectic Burning Man headquarters! Our first event, FIRE!, was an incredibly enjoyable evening for all, full of captivating speakers and entertaining demonstrations, as well as opportunities to meet and connect with our members and donors.

Elemental Interactions: AIR! will be at 6:30pm on Thursday, June 12, 2008 and will explore the the nature and qualities of air.

BRAF members and donors come for free! We want to meet you again and show our appreciation for your support. Stay tuned for our next Elemental Interaction in September: EARTH.

Feel free to spread the word as anyone is welcome to attend-- a donation of $10.00 is suggested for non-members. If you know anyone who wants to become a BRAF member, this is a great opportunity to make this event the first of many enjoyable benefits. Please ask them to contact info@blackrockarts.org, call (415) 626-1248, or visit www.blackrockarts.org/participate for details about joining our community.

Thursday June 12th at 6:30 pm
Burning Man Headquarters.
1900 3rd Street
San Francisco, Ca 94158

www.blackrockarts.org/events/...ions-air

photo: Kinetic sculptor, David Boyers
www.boyersculpture.com
www.boyersculpture.com/photo%...eo.html
www.youtube.com/watch

WHAT A FABULOUS WEEKEND IT WAS!

I love having someone to love!
I love have a part time job!
I love San Francisco!
I love being part of the Burning Man Community!

Quotes about the Monkeys

So this is how the real world gets Burning Man art!!!

from Elecktra:

So during my 2 shifts as a docent today, Sunday, I met a couple who were staying at the Marriot which is 2 buildings PAST the convention center, they were on the 26th floor on the observation deck and heard monkey screaming!! so they went for a walk to see where they were...... and found the art !! thought it was too cool!!

I also met a long time burner from the comic convention who hasnt been since `99 and lives in Mendocino... came back later with more buddys.

Also met a couple who had built the first greeters stations.... and their daughter who had her first burn at 8 months old... She is now 2 1/2... She had been wanting to get involved with the south bay burners but wasnt sure how... .. we met and she was thrilled!!

From Neon:

I had sooooo much fun on my shift last night!
The tourists and people of San Jose are really ppreciating the monkeys being in town.

One woman, visiting her son in San Jose, said in a long Southern drawl, after he told her the monkeys had been at Burning Man, "Well I've never even heard of Burning Man before, but now I want to go!"
Then she turned to me a minute later and said, "Are we allowed to make noise on those drums?" And when I said yes, she ran toward them squealing like a child. Maybe you had to be there to see how cute this was, but, I tell you, it was a beautiful moment.

An earlier moment had a group of about 5 young kids, around 5-8 years old, all running around and around the drums, hitting each one as they went by.

We had a few cars pull over...one was a group of people who had just been tattooed, they were in that semi-altered post-tattoo state and they stopped because they thought the monkeys were actual people swinging from pole to pole...

We also had a few people from a comic book convention who were really appreciative of the work.

Then there was one woman who was asking me a lot of questions and it took me a minute to figure out where she was coming from...see, she thought that the monkeys were actually swinging from branch to branch, so she was asking me if it was the speed or the centrifugal force that would make them start swinging. I could see that she didn't understand any of my explanations. Then when I finally said, "Do you see how each monkey is in a slightly different position?" and then when she saw that, I said, "They are stationary in that position, they don't move at all, they just look like they move."

Then, she was so surprised, she screamed! It was so funny....her mind was so blown, and she screamed and I laughed and we high fived and then the monkeys started up again...

i love that 3 minute down time!

And I look forward to my next docent shift!

Neon

photo: Golddust

Makes me smile!

I just got up this morning and I found an email regarding my flickr account. I have been posting a lot of Homouroboros photos lately so I assumed it was referenceing one of them, but no...

Schmap has included one of my creative commons photos in their California Guide.

(Be warned, it takes forever to load, and then it is not directly to my photo, you have to fool around and find my photo in the GoCar section, trust me, it is this photo above)

www.schmap.com/california...27988_6.jpg

can't get the widget to work....but still....

Pretty amusing

Homouroboros video

www.youtube.com/watch

And here are the photos

www.flickr.com/groups/hom...rossanjose/