Dear Art Predator,
This Independence Day, we have a lot to celebrate — including a major victory for our planet.
The historic vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act in the House of Representatives last Friday moves this bill to the Senate. Now, we must continue to build momentum and work for its passage.
Just as our founders struggled to achieve our nation’s independence, we must encourage our leaders to stand up to the entrenched special interests in another struggle of great historical importance — the fight for our energy independence.
Tell Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell that you support bold action on clean energy legislation. This July 4th, declare your energy independence and demand that they work to do the same in the Senate.
Declare your energy independence to Senators Reid and McConnell. Read more…
I heard a rumor that Liberace is joining us for the Fossil Fuel Free First Friday ArtRide this Friday, July 3–and he’s wearing this absolutely smashing sparkly red, white, and blue number on the Ride! I know, it’s just toooo wonderful! We’ll stop traffic with Liberace in the lead in this get-up!
What will you wear? Red white & blue? Stars & stripes? Or will you come as a dinosaur? (Yes, I’m talking to you, Tracy!) Flags and pinwheels are fun to fly off the back of your bike, and shirts with the Ventura Bicycle Union logo on them are always in style. (A $25 donation to the VBU on Friday gets you a shirt and a membership!)
We meet at 5:30pm on the Promenade outside or inside Aloha, and we ride at 6pm around the downtown area going to different art galleries, including the Bell Arts Factory, 432 Ventura Avenue:
 THE LAO
A Snapshot View
RIVER
–
SPIRIT
–
PEOPLE
in the
TOOL ROOM
GALLERY
Photo by Richard Newsham
RICHARD NEWSHAM & CATHY FORTUNA – THE LAO
 Richard Newsham is the Marketing Specialist for the Community Services Department in the City of Ventura. Through the years his support for the artists in the community has been invaluable. Now it’s time to turn the tables on Newsham, and to show his talents to us. He’s a poet whose work is often inspired by the paintings, poetry and sculpture of other artists as well as ‘the unique’ in people, both at home and abroad. For First Friday, July 3, Newsham finally shares his favorite things with us at the Bell Arts Factory – Tool Room Gallery.
Newsham partnered with friend Cathy Fortuna, to travel to Laos, and to produce a snapshot’s view of life along the Mekong. River/Spirit/People, is the subject of a photo exhibit, with touches of poetry and a splash of colorful weavings of the region. Friday, July 3, is the reception for the first City employee to exhibit at the Tool Room Gallery. The installation is the work of artist Sarah Kalvin who curates the venue. The reception is from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, with light refreshments. The exhibit runs from July 3 to July 26. Gallery hours are by appointment, call: 805.653.1174. Bell Arts Factory is located on Ventura’s Westside at 432 N. Ventura Ave.
The Tool Room Gallery is a new addition to the arts facility that exhibits
renowned individuals and innovative newcomers.
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A MEDITATION INSTALLATION
IN THE JANET ADDISON COMMUNITY ROOM
FIRST FRIDAY – JULY 3, 2009 – 6:00 to 9:00 PM  |
And we may get as far east as Midtown’s V2 to see “In the Mood: Part 2:”
As much as I love Erik Reel’s work which we saw at Seabreeze on our March and April ArtRides, I don’t think we’ll stop at Stoneworks to see his show–we get too many flat tires when we go there! We may get to Laurel Street to Seabreeze and to Art and Soul Ceramic Studios–you’ll have to come along and see!
Then follow us to the afterparty where we’ll enjoy beer donated by Anacapa Brewery, music, and food! Bring $10 to donate to the VBU for all you care to eat and drink.
Saturday morning July 4 is the Rotary Club’s “Push ’em Pull ’em Parade;” park at the San Jon Road City of Ventura Maintenance Yard and walk with us up Chrisman to the start of the parade near Chrisman and Main. Later that afternoon, I heard a rumor about a Stars and Bars ride–about 10 miles round trip including a ride out to the Harbor. We’ll be the ones in the Ventura Bicycle Union shirts!
More Friday themed rides:
Aug. 7: Animal Fair Ride
Sept 4: Full Moon Critical Manners Ride
Oct. 2: Critical Manners Mustache Ride
Oct. 30: Ghost Ride
Nov. 6: Super Heroes Ride
Dec. 4: Santacon Ride
Holly Holly
I dreamt of you
your name was on
the tip of my tongue
when I awoke.
You have a baby coming
and when I thought of
you when I awoke
with your name in mind
I heard your daughter’s name–
Emily. Emily–it’s a nice
name. Is it the name
you plan on calling her?
I’d always thought you’d name
a daughter after your mother
your mother who died
when you were a girl
your mother who has no
first name as far as
I know you’ve always
referred to her as Mom.
Baby baby how are you?
Were you calling to me
across the night
wanting me to say hello
to your mom for you?
I wrote this as part of the 3:15 Experiment back in 2007 when my friend Holly was pregnant; less a few weeks later, she did indeed deiver a baby girl who she named Ella. I visted them last weekend, so they’re fresh on my mind. For more poetry, ride the train!
So this is for Sky, and all those other adults and kids who were, and are, out there strumming and thrashing their guitars in garages everywhere, driving the neighbors nuts and causing a horrific amount of racket in hopes of hitting the Big Time.
And this is especially for all those musicians who are now beginning to pass on from this world, with little notice and even less mention.
This afternoon at 4pm at Dockweiler Beach, LA regional Burners will gather to BBQ Newbies; I think a similar activity is going on in SF this weekend as well. Folks are gearing up and getting ready for the BIG EVENT in the desert which happens the week before Labor Day; to see more pictures by Ian Lauder like the one here, check out his on-line gallery of BM08 shots, including 360 degree shots of center camp. Check it out:
http://www.ianlauder.com/jethead/burning_man.htm
Speaking of CENTER CAMP: What to do when you get out there? PARTICIPATE! Not spectate. There are a myriad ways that people do so; here’s a few ways to get on stage in Center Camp, how to volunteer to help keep the events there going, and how to go postal at BRC PO 2.0, thanks to the fine folks at Jack Rabbit Speaks.
BURNING MAN 2009 CENTER CAMP CAFE – PERFORMANCE STAGE, AERIAL ACTS & SPEAKER SERIES
According to Sleepless, Queen of the Cafe Performance Stages:
“The Cafe is a venue that bursts with a universe of art and unusual creative expression.
A musical stage features participants playing conversation-friendly world and instrumental music during the day; and at night hosts an incredible range of exciting performance — from classical dance to rock, opera to marching bands and funk to psychedelic. A spoken word stage features poetry readings, soap-box rants, comedy, slam poetry and theatrical productions. Read more…
Summer is outdoor Shakespeare season with Will’s Words popping up all over the country, including many different performances in unusual venues all over the Los Angeles region including Topanga Canyon’s Will Geer Thetricum Botanicum.
The Kingsmen’s version of Macbeth opens tonight at 8pm on the campus of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, in east Ventura County followed by All’s Well That Ends Well. Bring a blanket and a picnic and come early –grounds open at 5:30pm–to enjoy the pre-show entertainment and stake out a good spot on the grass.
Macbeth
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday – June 26-28, 2009
- Thursday, Friday, Sunday – July 2-3, 5, 2009
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday – July 10-12, 2009
All’s Well That Ends Well
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday – July 17-19, 2009
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday – July 24-26, 2009
- Friday, Saturday, Sunday – July 31, August 1-2, 2009
If it’s less traditional means of the literary arts that fascinates you, here are three events worth checking out, two of which feature my dear friend Jen Hofer:
ONE: Jen Hofer will read in Hollywood tonight, Friday June 26 from few of her brand-new hand-made tiny books which will be exhibited as part of a group show curated by Jibade-Khalil Huffman at Eighth Veil Gallery. The show is titled Wrong: A Program of Text and Image: information on the Eighth Veil website. Jen will also have on hand a hand-sewn a quilt made of papers collected on recent cross-country travels and she’ll be setting up the escritorio público (public letter-writing desk) at the opening where she charges $2 for a letter, $3 for a love letter, and $5 for an illicit love letter. Read more…
Murphy-Goode announced the Top 50 for their Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent 24 hours early –and I’m not on the list.
What’s up with that? Not just that I didn’t make the list, but 24 hours early? Did they outsource the selection to AUS? Programming snafu? Their site was showing there was more than a whole day to vote when all of a sudden there was not! I know because I was on their site around midnight California time!
After all the goodwill and interest Murphy-Goode has generated with this campaign, how much of that will disappear because of disappointed losers? It’s one thing to be disappointed because you didn’t make the cut–another thing to find out you didn’t even get one more day to campaign!
Not that voting seemed to really have much of an impact. I was able to see the numbers of the Final 50 before they totaled them out. (I know you would have thought they would have done that BEFORE going live!) Some of the Final 50 had less than 100 total votes–some even under 50. An HR firm did the vetting–wish I could have been a fly on the wall there to see what they thought made a really goode job candidate.
VinTank had a good grasp on who would make the cut–7 of their 8 candidates made it.
But I didn’t. So I’m drowning my sorrows in some really good single malt, I’ve voted for some of the VinTank few like Todd Havens who will do a really goode job, I’m teaching myself how to spell good again (good not goode), and then I will take myself off to bed knowing that the really right job is just around the corner.
In the meantime, I’ve got my life back. I’m not chasing after that job. I am enjoying being back in the classroom again teaching lit this summer. In the fall I have two comp classes where we’re going to study Chris Carlsson’s book Nowtopia and put into practice ways to reinvent the future today.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to work in the wine industry doing social media. In particular, my goal is to work to support and promote local and regional wineries actively embracing the biodynamic/organic/sustainable spectrum. VinTank, are you listening? Learn more about me here –and find out why I am may be perfect for YOU!
In the meantime, life’s really good. Without that job where I put an e after that word.
Really.
And, if I took that really goode job, when would I have time to blog for YOU, my loyal readers?
Thank you for your votes, your kind words, and your support during the past few days as I drummed up last minute votes for my last minute campaign.
PS My beloved Macbook Pro is on the fritz–the power cord doesn’t want to take a charge. So if I disappear here for a few days, it’s because I’m wanting for Apple to send me a new one–FREE. Gotta love Apple. They take care of their peeps.
First Friday ArtRide: The Fossil Fuel Free Ride July 3
As you can see from many recent posts on this blog, I am hoping to relocate to Sonoma County in August as the Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent. (Watch my video here; please vote to put a poet in a vineyard!)
As you can see from the adjacent poster, it sure looks like Sonoma County has a happening BIKE CULTURE! Yay! They even have a Fourth of July Bike Festival! (at least they did last year!)
Our First Friday ArtRide: The Fossil Fuel Free Ride may not be as big of an event as the one up north, but I swear we will be three times as crazy and have two times as much fun next Friday if the past six rides are any indication! (I tell ya, I am still recovering from the Santa Convention!)
For the ride next Friday, we’ll meet as usual on the Promenade outside the Artists Union Gallery. You can check out the art or duck into Aloha for a quick drink before we hit the Bike Path at 6pm. We’ll ride up the River Trail awhile then travel in a pack around downtown, stopping at various galleries. Follow us to the after party where we will enjoy beer from Anacapa Brewery, food, live music, art installations, film and more for a small donation to cover the festivities with any extra money being donated to the Ventura Bicycle Union.
Saturday July 4 is the annual downtown Ventura Push’em Pull’em Parade which is an amazing spectacle. The first year, when we pulled our 8 month old in a wagon, and rolled down Main Street in a mile long 4 lane wide stream, I realized that by becoming a mom I had joined something huge, that while I often felt in a minority, there were many many many of us hidden behind our suburban doors. And if we mobilized, we could truly have an impact.
The research bears this out: the research claims that if the “soccer” moms adopt a practice, the world (at least US consumer culture) will follow.
That’s one of the reason that we moms are really reaching out to other families on these bike rides. Most rides and political actions are taken by adults, and often young adults at that. We want to show that bike riding is multi-generational, fun and SAFE. And we are!
Please join us! If not in person, in your heart, or by organizing your own fun art rides. And if not this ride, maybe the next: The Animal Fair Ride in August, The Full Moon Critical Manners Rides in September, the Mustache Ride in October…
Send a note to FirstFridayArtRide (AT) gmail DOT and let us know you want to join up!
The Autry National Center this summer presents a stunning exhibition, Granite Frontiers: A Century of Yosemite Climbing. For more information on The Autry, click here.
Granite Frontiers chronicles the history of modern rock climbing in Yosemite, where the towering granite walls of Yosemite Valley are the ultimate proving ground for climbers from around the globe. Included are amazing artifacts, stunning photographs, historic video footage and interactive displays, giving you a sense of the rich history of over 100 years of climbing in Yosemite.
from Granite Frontiers: A Century of Yosemite Climbing |
KCRW members like me receive free admission plus a guest by showing a KCRW Fringe Benefits Card, Saturday, September 5, 2009 only. No Fringe Benefits Card? Subscribe to KCRW at the $50 level or higher and start saving at nearly 1000 businesses. Click here.
Closing this weekend at the Autry: 
Why Art Predator Should Get A Really Goode Job
Why am I going for a “Goode” job? Why do I think I’ve got what it takes to convey the Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle to a broad audience using social media? This is what I wrote on the application form when I uploaded my video and which I posted on my page “Getting a Really Goode Job” along with a resume.
Poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge defines the aesthetic as that which engages the whole soul. In life, I seek and find “that which engages the soul.” Then I write and speak about these aesthetic experiences for print, television, radio, and now through social media outlets such as WordPress blogs, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
My eclectic subjects range from literary, visual, musical, and dramatic arts to culinary arts like
food and wine, from encouraging my readers to be engaged with their worlds by attending festivals like Burning Man and Coachella to environmental activism such as participating in group bike rides like the First Friday ArtRides I organize or joining a Grow Food Party Crew.
I moved to the Bay Area from Southern California as a poet, dancer, and performer at the Renaissance Faire. My enthusiasm Read more…
art predator 