army of one in jeopardy.

army of one/jc2 pastes some of the most compelling street art. in new york, in the world- anywhere- it's a gift. link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/armyofonejc2/

he's been arrested.

one great thing about spring is that when the weather gets warm more fantastic art appears on the street. lately, especially, i've been waiting for new appearances of the imploring boy with the grenade. from what i read here there's a beautiful grenade boy out there that none of us got to see. and that's a loss to art lovers. a few pics.

but more than that, jc2's message is, in a cynical world, so, so needed. army, a veteran new york firefighter in his 40's, and committed volunteer for children's well being, pastes his images as a heartfelt plea for peace. this is someone who spends his life trying to help and protect people- especially children. if this is an "outlaw", this is an outlaw for a better world, where children aren't victims of atrocity or abuse.


army's beautiful photo of grenade boy in cuba.

i hope the beautiful voice will never be muffled.

good bloody marys- harlem

an unexpectedly great bloody mary from kitchenette in harlem. its so pungent it could almost be used as a condiment! so flavorful it's best to sip not guzzle (even for me!) tart salty spicy sweet. lemon and/or lime juice, salt, tabasco, horseradish and, i think, some sugar or simple syrup. a really good one!




kitchenette also makes really pretty cookies and cakes and serves ample plates of homey comfort food that rely heavily on inexpensive starchy ingredients like potatoes, breads and grits. a down town import, not a harlem home grown place like the old m & g soul food. very, very charmingly decorated- all vintage cream, pink and jadite green- old white weathered boards and green handled or enamel kitchen ware.

matchbox

scans. match box i brought back from berlin in the 90s.

new york city easter "parade"

not a real parade at all- more of a street party. the city just closes off a few blocks of fifth ave just south of central park. people get their own costumes and easter bonnets together and just stroll around. in a city so full of performers, artists and designers- the easter parade, halloween, the mermaid parade, santa con... all diy spectacles! these pictures are from yesterday and last easter.

italy

dusty scans of photos from an easter time trip to italy 20 years ago. it's a little tiny town in the mountains east of milan. these remind me of balthus' landscape paintings.

life on mars (bar)- east village yesterday

life on mars bar.

mary galli show- april 30- store 54 allston, ma. (16b harvard ave.)

beautiful work from mary's previous (sold out) show at zuzu. i'll have pics of current work after this show opens on april 30th (3-7pm.) mary's openings are a total blast. the zuzu party rocked and i can take a small amount of credit 'cause i brought my dance 45's and everyone got up and got down. mary's friend brian was the actual dj- i just brought a box of tunes. weirdly, brian and i both showed up with the same obscure lp- rufas thomas crown prince of dance. this year our vinyl won't be needed though, 'cause wayne viens is going to dj and he has the best collection of vintage dance funk of anyone i know.


i OWN this one!

ink meets wheatpaste. ink belongs to mary. wheatpaste is by gaia -fabulously soulful baltimore street artist. hope to get more pics of gaia's work next trip down there.
more mary here and here
link:mary galli

gloucester massachusetts.

christopher lydon. the connection.

there's snow on the ground this morning! one similar year when spring came late, my friends jim and lydia invited me to an easter party. christopher lydon, a man i frankly idolize, was there with his date, a poet.

christopher lydon's 1990s radio show, the connection, remains the best radio i've ever heard. 2 hours a day of live call in radio on an amazing variety of topics. it might be illuminated manuscripts, marc orfaly, bebop. keynesian economics, kim deale... roseanne, rashoman, rosh hashanah... will rogers, roger wilkins, local politics, liberation theology... snoop dogg, mortimer adler... ok i'm not sure about all of these but i'm just trying to illustrate- the range was crazy! and one never knew who might spontaneously call- it could be gore vidal or ted sorensen or some other harvard friend of christpher's who just happened to be listening and wanted to weigh in. but a north end cop or roxbury cab driver (-or "amber"- for those who remember-) might be just as likely, and their comments were given equal weight and were usually as astute. (amanda palmer wrote a song about her call to the connection) the best aspect of the show was that the callers engaged in back and forth conversation with the guests and host. you have to imagine camille paglia in excited conversation about string theory with a southie construction worker.

the easter party guests were asked to bring a reading to share. i decided it would be more fun to write a poem. my "poem:"

in spite of environmentalist's warnings
i'm getting impatient for global warming.
so, doom predictions not withstanding,
i'm fossil fueling and aerosol canning,
in hopes the  "winter of our discontent"
may be made summer, this end of lent,
through use of "lysol, fresh clean scent"

i'm chlorofluorocarbons wielding.
and so my frozen garden's yielding
to "hosts of golden daffodils"
blooming early, due to environmental ills!

glorious "sun of york-"
shine down on us through that giant ozone hole in the sky!
so easter bunnies can nibble flowers this april,
or at least so the snows can be over, by... ...july?


christopher lydon laughed and clapped and HUGGED ME! and said he LOVED the "poem"
the poet politely complemented me on rhyming the word chlorofluorocarbon.