LAPoliticalArt

Humanity is Toxic, but who isn't?

2007-07-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

Can you take comfort in a nihilistic universe?
There is no GOD. These nervous organisms know they are doomed,
and in the grand scale of things everything is annihilated, through stellar furnaces.
That's the universe's way of recycling, because nothing is ever lost,
all is conserved and mutable, and so flows your joy.
Why not live in the happy bubble, as all organisms seek.
Lay in the shade and lick each other. Pop, you're dead.

Everything Steals

2007-05-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

The projects pile up. Everything steals from everything else. May brain bouncing around contexts like so many handballs. Good shit, but high on stress crinks the neck. Virtual revolutionaries turn out to be corporate agent provocateurs. Honest progressives hawking good agendas out on their own. Iraq meatgrinder gone wild.

http://tellusthemission.org/ from Brave New Foundation - Robert Greenwald
Check out the number of views Roy is getting on YouTube RoyZimmerman

Yes, we have an Ashgrove Project, 2 nites April 2008 at Royce Hall.
I can't show you the movie yet, but I will just namedrop...Ry Cooder, Dave Alvin, Taj Mahal.

The Fight Against War and Fascism in Second Life.

2007-01-31T20:10:00.000-08:00

My obsession for Second Life started out guiltily enough. Tours of dungeons, fairylands, and the shemale sex palace. Real life matters and domestic debris piling up. It quickly devolved into a fight against neo-nazis, where I'd be right now if god hadn't taken the servers down.

Second Life is a 3D designers playground, sound and movies included, filling up with the old as the new content evolved, adventure games included. You can go ahead and put virtual in front of every word from here on, because none of this exists except in the minds of millions of people. People will pay for that, just like the movies, and here you're the center of the action, the makeup, the plastic surgery, the fashion, the cause, the camera.

I set up Sponto Gallery on the boardwalk of Venice Beach and filled it with my photos of Venice Art. The Landlord of Venice Beach even gave me $2500 to get started. I teleported from place to place to admire the works of talented designers. I dove into the scripting libraries for special effects and animation. There were people of conscience working here. Camp Darfur, AIDS awareness, Breast Cancer Awareness, CODEPINK! I joined CODEPINK because i am in love with them. The sight of courageous outrageous performance art tearing up patriarchial groupthink just makes me so happy. The people I met at the CODEPINK meetings were wonderful activists from across the US. I soon became a woman. My Pinky would be the CODEPINK poster girl, a big tall Irish 18 year old with flaming red-blond hair. She would fall to the earth and utterly transform it, to a punk metal anthem.

After the November election RootsCamp held a number of campaign debriefings, with real life activists and technology specialists from campaigns. I learned what content management systems and private web based applications people were finding useful. We planned to do an anti-war protest to roughly coincide with the January 27 2007 protests in Washington. Avatars Against the War. We sought out all the other progressive groups. Greenpeace, ACLU, Forward Together, Imagine Peace, Leftist Beatnik Revolutionaries, Not On Our Watch, Red Faction, SL Left Unity, and the Anti-fnsl, who have now split into two groups, one on a path of violence and one on a path of non-violence. We put together a large antiwar Peace Party and demonstration at the Capitol.
By large I mean about 120 people in two sims. A sim holds about 80 people before it
refuses entry.

My Photos
RubyJi's photos
An Article by Scarlett Qi
A blog and movie by Rik Riel

Searching the databases for progressives I found the Conscious Lounge, run by a lesbian performance artist from San Francisco. She played lovely lyrical and abstruse piano, quite modern. She was hanging out with a lot of Euros, particularly French people who had come into Second Life to protest the opening of an office for Le Pen, the presidential candidate of the National Front of France. Segolene Royal, the candidate of the Socialist Party of France also has an office. There were constant disruptions at the Le Pen office, as both sides switched tactics. Pushing, shooting, naked passive resistance, image bombs, annoying chatbots, these are all techniques of what is called griefing. Second Life has a set of anti-griefing tools. If you own land, you can expel and ban people, and there are even degriefers for hire to help get rid of griefers. Griefing is against the Second Life Terms of Service. Yet in civil disobedience there is a basic intention to disrupt the corrupt. The Anti Fascists managed to force the Le Pen office to move from it's first location, and kept up the pressure on the new location. However there is one problem with fighting neo-fascists, they love it, it is how they have sex.

It also helps them band together because soon into the fray comes Thor Forte, whose profile links to the National Vanguard, a white separatist hate group as certified by the Anti-Defamation League. Their website could have been written by the Onion. "We can have a clean, orderly, progressive, safe, and incomparably richer and more beautiful nation if it becomes a proud White nation again." They can't use "supremacist" and more but they'd like it if all the non-white people went back to where they came from, so the "True Americans" can get their country back. Christ is far to namby-pamby for these neo-nazis, they are Pagans. I could tell it hurt when I told my daughter that. So Thor starts showing up at the National Front office heckling the demonstrators, and spying on the left wing organizations. I meet with the ACLU and a degriefer, who suggests that people have a right to hate anybody they want. As for spying, don't think for a minute that everything you do on the internet isn't visible to someone. Get over it and make your brazen dreams in public, the world loves an exhibitionist, that's why there is an entertainment industry. Have nothing to hide, or confess, that can play well.

After the demonstration i go by the Le Pen HQ to see what's goin on. It appears that Thor Forte has handed out enormous penises to the National Front of France guys. They immediately use them on an unwelcome guest. The Video. The Photos. NSFW I felt like a photographer at a gay porn shoot.

Second Life was created by Linden Labs of San Francisco and we all know that in this world they are god. While they do have terms of service, violations of which can get your account suspended or terminated, they would prefer not to be involved in the disputes of mortals, such as the banning of hate groups. Some residents hope to launch self-government, where the residents have the ability to legislate. But all real world governments have police and army to back them up, and regions in SL may be able to opt out. War may be required for residents to take self-government seriously, but physical war in SL is an orgy of violent imagery, with no permanent damage.

The lawless mercenary is the hero of the militarist genre of video games. Legions of young boys jerking off with their remotes. You'd think it would be a militarist's bonanza of recruits but army life ain't nuthin like the video game for a grunt. However those who view themselves as an elite find theselves able to simulate military operations as training exercises, in Second Life too. All the hostility gives them something to fight for. So I suggested to the Anti-Fascists that we read Umberto Eco's article "14 Ways to tell a Blackshirt" which is about Ur-Fascism, the commonalities of fascist ideas thru the ages. I also suggested that we campaign against them with surrealistic psychic disruption. For the Ur-fascist, the weapon is the penis, and vice versa. No one seems to be going for my plan of counterattacking with giant vaginas, and getting Larry Flint to sponsor the film. Instead we are making Le Pun, a little chatbot who says "Death is Life!", "Le Pun loves his little boys!", "Take orders and obey!", and worse.

U.S.: The White Supremacist Movement's Metamorphosis
The National Vanguard
The National Front Of France
Umberto Eco - Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt

I was a racist little kid, despite having relatively liberal parents. My brothers friends were neo-nazi ROTC who marched across Fairfax High in Nazi drag. I wanted to be a Marine and go to Annapolis, at least until I discussed all this in first grade with teacher, Mrs. Gurowitz. I think the first crack in my armor was when I could see how a sweet jewish girl in my class was hurt by my words. I felt some sympathy now for those inside militaristic hate cults. We discussed how the neo-nazis held many self-loathing closeted gays. We are reading the Art of War and the Art of Peace. The most powerful weapon of war and peace is the human mind.

Fascists in Second Life

2007-01-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

Yes the F word is overused, however in the case of the National Front of France calling them fascist is not hyperbole. They are Holocaust denying, homophobic, militaristic and anti-immigrant. Le Pen is their presidential candidate. Supporter of Le Pen recently opened an office in the MMORPG Second Life. They were quickly overwhelmed with protesters. It would appear that the office was a project of some young gamers. The met the protesters with pushing, firearms, and ran them over with vehicles, and banned and ejected the protesters from their land. This led to an escalation of griefing, and the use of anti-push attachments. Of course no one is really killed or injured in Second Life, and griefing is the term used for actions which cause someone grief. It may be unwelcome speech, it may be automated virtual object that spew text or images or sounds into the environment of the begrieved. Pushing, shooting, and other aggresive behaviors are prohibited by the Second Life Term of Service. There may have been some antifa (Anti-Fascist, Anti-Le Pen) who also performed aggressive behavior, but mostly they were performing non-violent disobediance like sitting naked in front of the SL (Second Life) Le Pen HQ. Recordings of Punk anthems against the NF (National Front) were broadcasted in the vicinity, and image bombs, were also used. Large signs were placed on neighboring property.
The antifa are mostly French, and most of the in-world chat taking place around the Le Pen HQ was in French. A Second Life Left Unity group was formed, as well as an antifa group, so information could be shared. As word spread of the situation spread, activists and concerned avatars from around the world showed up at the protest site. What has now developed is a lot of dialog since bullying ends up as a waste of time. The physical battle in the streets that may accompany many real life demonstrations around the world was being repeated here in SL, but has evolved into a bilingual chat stream as Le Pen supporters, Antifa, and other interested avatars showed up and debated and discussed.

Militaristic and agressive roleplaying video games dominate the market. I am concerned that these would make it easier for old school rightists like Le Pen to use social networking to recruit youth into their cause. Take a look at one SL Le Pen Supporter, Simon Au. Odd thing about Simon. He's a Libyan Arab, Lives in England, and is 17. (Must be 18 to play SL, this is a violation the the SL TOS.) Here's his Myspace page.
Militarists succeed by dehumanizing an enemy, making them an evil to be eliminated.
Social networks can empower a humanizing dialog, around the world.

Moved to Blogger Beta

2006-09-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

I am posting over here now.

Code Pink at Camp Casey

2006-08-25T00:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

Tomorrow is Day 22 of my Fast for Peace.

Last week I went to Camp Casey with Codepink to plant a memorial peace garden and remember the innocent lives lost throughout the Middle East.

When we arrived on Wednesday, the plot of land we were to plant was raw dirt. And for those of you who’ve never had the pleasure of visiting Crawford, raw dirt, baking in the 105 degree Texas sun, is hard and dry. The rototiller arrived at about 5 p.m. And by the time the sun had set, we had finished rototilling (is that a verb?) and had decided on the placement for the big plants, the bench, the birdbath and the tree. After we stopped working for the day, there was a beautiful ceremony officially welcoming the vets to Camp Casey.

The next morning we got started again early in the morning — some of us were planting like crazy, while others picked up the bench, the birdbath and more flowers — and at 11 a.m. we presented the amazingly pink garden to Cindy and the residents of Camp Casey. There is a mound of children’s shoes at the front of the garden, representing the innocent lives lost in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine.

Here’s a picture of the codepink gals with Cindy in the garden — note the pink flamingo. You can see more pictures at: http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=1176

The ceremony was intimate and unbelievably moving. Jodie Evans spoke of Cindy’s courage and sacrifice. Cindy talked about her upcoming surgery and the strength she got from seeing flowers blooming in Camp Casey. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm talked about her participation in the action known as the Highway to Hell, where American forces surrounded and attacked Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait City and from al Jahra. Some estimate as many as 25,000 Iraqi were killed. She said many women and children were trapped in the slaughter and that seeing the pile of shoes “brings me right back there. And I need to go there. It is the worst thing I ever did.” Then the mother of a veteran spoke, “I guess I’m lucky, my son made it back alive. But I keep feeling like I’m just minutes away from becoming a Gold Star Mother. He is so tortured by what he did and what he saw. There have been suicide attempts...” This is the war we don’t see on the nightly news. Embedded journalists don’t show this side of war, any war.

Camp Casey is smaller this year and had to start up early when W changed his vacation plans. His guys obviously learned something from last year. When he’s in Crawford, the press covers Cindy. When he’s not at the ranch, the national press corps is not in town, so she doesn’t get as much coverage. I would never say Cindy drove him out of town, but...

As you drive into Crawford there’s a big billboard proclaiming: “Welcome to Crawford, Home of President Geo. W. Bush.” Outside Camp Casey there’s another sign, “Welcome to Crawford, Home of Cindy Sheehan.” Guess the town wasn’t big enough for both of them.

I returned from the trip full of feelings, nourished by the strength and commitment of the band of sisters and brothers camping out on Cindy’s land. Some of you have sent moving, supportive emails. Thank you. I hope my fast encourages you to act for peace. If you are so moved, you can contribute to codepink’s Let Peace Live campaign at: https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/codepink/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1733&t=F.dwt

Love and peace (now!!), Susan

P.s. Cindy had a hysterectomy today — no cancer!! She will be in the hospital, Providence Health Center in Waco, for the next several days.
P.s. I’ve decided to end my juice fast for peace September 1. I will have fasted for a month.

The Real News is Hiring

2006-08-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

IWT - The Real News is hiring!

This fall we begin an exciting new phase of The Real News. As you know, our
business plan calls for the creation of a pilot for our nightly news show "The Real
News", several short documentaries and a new weekly show examining media
coverage of top stories called "The Real Story".

The first step in this process is a world-wide talent search and we're hoping
you can help. We're looking for smart and savvy on-camera hosts. If you, or
someone you know, is interested in applying, please go to
www.iwtnews.com/host

Please stay tuned for news of further employment opportunities at The Real
News. With your support we are continuing to grow and achieve our goals. We
couldn't do it without your monthly membership support. To all who have
signed up, our heartfelt gratitude.

Best wishes,

Paul Jay, Chair
The Real News (IWT)
www.TheRealNews.com

PARLOR PERFORMANCES presents PARLOR-PALOOZA!!

2006-08-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Sept. 10 * Complete Shows at 2pm & 6pm * �Insomniac�s Delight� @
10pm!! * $25 (cash/check)
RSVP & Info: jeannine@fankentertainment.com * (310) 471-3979, Steinway Hall * 12121 W. Pico Bl.(one door w/ of Bundy Dr. under Fields Pianos - level P2) in West L.A.

To kick off it's 17th season, Parlor Performance producer Jeannine Frank is offering the public a sampling of some of LA's favorite comedy, cabaret and solo artists (from the historical to the hysterical!) on Sunday, September 10th. PARLOR-PALOOZA will feature continuous performances from 2pm - 5:30 and again from 6pm - 10pm. At 10pm, Frank hopes to cap the festivities with "Insomniac's Delight" -- a late-night hour of political satire, comedy and cabaret. Featured artists include monologists Ann Randolph (Squeeze Box), Vicki Juditz, Annie Korzen, and Marc Maron; cabaret favorites Ray Jessel and Marie Cain; singing satirist Roy Zimmerman and several others.

Coming soon! Ray Jessel (Sat. Sept. 16 @ 8pm) * Jay Leonhart's "The Bass
Lesson" (Thu., Oct. 26 @ 8pm)

****************************
MORE INFO! SHOW LINE-UP & DESCRIPTIONS
12-minute mini-showcases * Sunday at 2:00pm  & repeated at 6:00pm
* ANN RANDOLPH's LA & NY hit �SQUEEZE BOX� (LA Critics Award * Best Solo
Show!)
* KRES MERSKY's "THE LIFE & TIMES of A. EINSTEIN"
* VICKI JUDITZ (LA Ovations-winner! Think David Sedaris & Sarah Vowell)
* STEPHANIE SATIE's "REFUGEES" & �COMING to AMERICA: Transformations�
* JOHN CROWTHER�s "F.LL.W.: The Tragedies & Triumphs of Frank Lloyd
Wright" & "MEET MR. WRIGHT"
* CARLA ZILBERSMITH's "WEDDING SINGER BLUES" (spot-on characterizations
recall Lily Tomlin. LA Times)
* Singing Satirist ROY ZIMMERMAN (a latter-day Tom Lehrer. LA Times)
* AMANDA ABEL (Cabaret artist, Broadway & off-Broadway veteran)
* Sr. Citizen Cabaret Darling RAY JESSEL ("the millennium Noel Coward!"
Michael Feinstein)
* Comedienne & Cabaret Diva SHELLY GOLDSTEIN
* NPR Humorist & Seinfeld veteran ANNIE KORZEN's "YENTA UNPLUGGED"
* MARIE CAIN�s one-woman musical comedy �BABY BLOOMER: Is There Life
After 50?�
* Exquisitely neurotic, acerbic (and oddly lovable) radio host/comedian
MARC MARON

10:00-???  �INSOMNIAC�S DELIGHT!!�  Grab Bag of Comedy & Cabaret! !
The room is paid for � why stop? Exhausted artists perform for fun -- new
stuff, anything goes! Surprise guests!

Venice Music Festival

2006-08-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Venice Music Festival and Jazz at Palms Court Champagne Brunch September 17, 2006

Save the Date! VCHC's annual fundraiser is Sunday, September 17th this year. As usual, the event will kick off at the beautiful Palms Court (733 Palms Boulevard in Venice), where brunch guests will begin their Sunday enjoying delicious fare prepared by Venice's own Off the Wall Catering. Brunch attendees will enjoy the smooth jazz of the Richard Glaser Band. This Champagne Brunch is always sold out, so make your reservations early.

In celebration of the diversity of Venice that makes our community so special, this year's musical festival will feature music selections from around the world.The Venice Music Festival will begin at 1:00 and continue until 6:00 in an expanded performance space around the Palms Court. Kwanza Jones and the Global Groove Collective will kick-off the afternoon with their Rock-N-Worldbeats, followed by L.A.'s Premier Afrobeat Ensemble, Afrobeat Down. Argentinean rockers Los Pinguos were such a hit last year that we've invited them back, and they will be sure to have the audience dancing- vivacious and infectious, the sound of Los Pinguos has claimed fans worldwide.

Delicious food and beverages will be offered throughout the Venice Music Festival at bargain rates. Champagne Brunch tickets are $100, which also includes admission to the Music Festival in the afternoon. A suggested donation of $20 is requested for the Music Festival only.

To order tickets or for additional information call Kristen Laskaris at 310-399-4100 ext. 106.

Venice Music Festival MySpace Page!

Dave Rovics at Peace and Freedom Center

2006-08-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

DAVID ROVICS - Coming Sept 9

That's right! America's Number 1 Protest Singer is coming to the Peace and
Freedom Center for his only appearance in Los Angeles as part of his
Halliburton Boardroom Massacre tour. If you don't know his music, go to
www.DavidRovics.com

Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, had this to say about David Rovics:
"David Rovics is the musical version of Democracy Now!"

Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan: "David Rovics is the peace poet and
troubadour for our time."

Tickets for DAVID ROVICS appearance are on sale now

Advance tickets are $15, or $20 at the door. There is limited seating, so
get your tickets now! Call 310-399-2215 for information.
Check out Rebecca Lynn's music and website.



And please join us at a weekly peace vigil 5PM every Friday at the Venice
Circle (1 block from our Center).
[OUT NOW • STOP GLOBAL WARMING]
James Smith for Congress • www.votesmithforcongress.org Karl Abrams for
Assembly • www.AbramsforAssembly.org
--------------------------------------
email: jsmith@igc.orgphone: 310-399-2215 web:
http://www.VenicePeaceandFreedom.org

Marijuana Policy Project Ads

2006-08-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

MPP's latest radio ad debunks myths about marijuana — explaining, for example, how government-funded research has shown that marijuana doesn't cause cancer. The new spot will debut on Jim Hightower's syndicated "Common Sense Commentaries" and the "Downsize D.C." radio show the first week of September. Listen to MPP's new radio commercial here.

Pigmobile

2006-08-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Polls show most people don't want half their tax money going to the Pentagon, once they see the facts. So we've got a 5,000-pound rolling political message about Pentagon pork and underfunded domestic priorities, called the Pigmobile. It's on the road this summer drawing all kinds of attention to our plan for shifting some of that wasted money into human needs programs where it could do some good.

Pianism

2006-08-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

This is a collection of Piano improvisations I made, on Jamendo, a free Creative Commons license music site. Purely abstract music, no propaganda. link is in title.

Wonderful Europe

2006-08-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos I took in Europe, they are among the over 700
photos the link above leads to.

My Video of Venice, Italy

2006-08-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

I went out one early morning in Venice Italy to capture some ambience.

AND NOW FOR INTERESTING AND FUN LINKS

2006-07-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.royalsapien.com/pop1/
http://www.freeinla.blogspot.com/ - free events blog
http://www.infomindsolutions.com/photogallery1/natphoto/index.html - public domain photo collections
http://www.jacksonpollock.org/ - make your own.
Free Summer Concerts in Santa Monica http://www.twilightdance.org/
& Culver City http://www.culvercitymusic.org/
http://www.sirnosir.com/ - the GI movement to end the Vietnam War
http://leftcoastconversions.com/ - Electric Vehicle Conversions - in Culver City
http://shakemovie.caltech.edu/ - Incident specific earthquake animations
http://www.downtownartwalk.com.
http://www.freevenice.org/Beachhead/July2006/July2006.html
My Road Trip 2006 http://www.flickr.com/photos/venicevandal/187052523/in/set-72157594195264881/

Art Behind Bars

2006-07-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

We thought you might be interested to know what Margie's been up to since Midnight Special closed. When last we saw her she was putting on a show at the bookstore called "Art Behind Bars," drawings and writings by prisoners incarcerated at the SHU in Pelican Bay. She has continued putting on these shows in San Francisco, Eureka, and now Highland Park. Here's the info:

August 12-October 12, 2006

@ Jackie Goldberg's office

106 N. Ave 56 @ Figueroa

(take the Gold Line to Ave 57 Highland Park station)

(323) 258-0450

The opening reception will be on Saturday, August 12 from 6-9 pm, and will be part of NELAart's Second Saturday Gallery Night (kind of like an "art walk" where you can walk around to see different art exhibits).

Please stop by and say "hi." And if you can't make it to the reception, then please go out to Jackie's office at your convenience and see the show. Even if you saw it at Midnight Special, you still might want to take a look -- different and more drawings will be exhibited.

Looking forward to seeing you,

Lorraine Suzuki and Margie Ghiz

P.O. Box 1495

Santa Monica, CA 90406

310.403.9277

www.artrelease.org

Blight at the End of the Funnel

2006-06-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

Edward Colver’s exhibition and book titled, Blight at the End of the Funnel, are epic explorations. The 200-page book and the exhibition examine the artist’s creative life from his many years documenting the punk music scene in Southern California, to his edgy, witty, poignant assemblages. The exhibition will feature 20 selected photographs and 15 assemblage works in the Grand Central Main Gallery and, in the Grand Central Project Room, Colver will assemble an original installation. The 200-page book, co-published by Last Gasp Press (San Francisco) and Grand Central Press (Santa Ana), will be printed in both hard and soft cover editions and feature more than 300 black-and-white and color images. Mick Farren, Mat Gleason, Larry Reid, and Jocko Weyland contributed essays for the book.

Planning a Iraq war sim in Second Life

2006-06-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

I recently attended a meeting to plan a 3-D art exhibit about the Iraq war. No one drove their car to the meeting, we all sat our avatars down together in the virtual world of Second Life, a massive multi-player online world simulation created by it's participants. It is a multi-media playground for artists, with streaming music and movies. People can create entire fantasy islands here...and they do...you name it. There are community standards though, and people get suspended or expelled for being hateful. There is a police blotter.

So here I am going to brainstorm some ideas that I think might make some interesting performance art pieces for a virtual world.

1. Visit Iraq
Visitors are queued up to go on a tour of a small Iraqi town. They all must register and recieve passports, with RFID tags spewing their personal infos. They must also put on traditional Iraqi costumes. Guards will not let them past a checkpoint into the sim until they have reviewed their passport. Inside the sim the visitors are given instructions from an Officer, about what to expect, and there is cynical humor and implied danger, but may be told that if they are killed they will be teleported back to the queueing area. The Officer also introduces the seargeant and privates who will accompany the visitors, giving some background info on each, to build empathy, get the visitors to laugh at them for their humanity. The visitors are asked to board a military transport vehicle to ride to the village. Their passports are collected as they climb aboard the bus. It's a rough ride and then a roadside bomb goes off. Many are killed, and all the soldiers are killed except for the soldier who just arrived yesterday from Nebraska. The visitors can take cover behind the overturned vehicle, while the one soldier returns sniper fire. After a short while, the near paniced soldier ties a brave charge at the snipers, but he is also wounded and lies dying nearby and tells the visitors to hang tight until another bus comes, and that he has called in air cover. RPGs explode on the opposite side of the overturned bus. The visitors must decide what to do. In a short while a helicopter battles the snipers, and may tell the visitors to proceed to the village, down the road. The road is mined and there are more roadside bombs. Alternately they can wait for another bus.

When they arrive in town (it might take a few tries) they are unloaded from the bus. It is windy and dusty. An extremely officious officer reprimands them for even wanting to be there and lays the resposibility for the death of the other soldiers on their meddling desire to investigate matters which are better left to professional soldiers. SOme passports are returned. Behind the officer a old Iraqi man has been shuffling up the street. He explodes and the officer and his bodyguards take off down another street where they say it is safe. Here there are a few bodies lying in the street. The officer takes off in his helicopter, the soldiers hold the rear, returning sniper fire.

The visitors are then left to their own devices to wander among scenes of wanton murder of civilians. Eventually another military patrol arrives and surrounds and corrals the visitors.
The visitors must all lie on the ground quickly or they are shot. They are asked for their passports, but only some have recovered them. Those people with passports are separated from the rest. The others are taken to Abu Ghraib. There they are put into cells with imprisoned Iraqis who talk to them(maybe notecards) about why they are there and what their feelings about the war are. One of the visitors, maybe a plant, is horribly loudly tortured in front of all the cells. Relief guards come in, and after the other shift leaves, they lecture everyone about how much they hate Iraq and how many of their friends have been killed, then they machine gun everyone. Restart for these visitors. The other group of visitors, who had recovered their passports, is taken thru a checkpoint into an upper class enclave, which is completely beautiful safe zone and there they can meet and listen to Iraqi politicians, diplomats, carpetbaggers, religious spokespeople, Haliburton Office, US Embassy. It could be possible for people to recover passports for their friends who were taken to Abu Ghirab, and to go back and get them out of prison. Visitors can leave thru a checkpoint which leads to a village dedicated to the beauty and history of Iraqi culture, including a completely respectful Mosque dedicated to Moslem culture. This historical area can be entered without going thru the bus ride
if you have a passport.

2.Meet an Iraqi - a nightclub of modern middle eastern pop music where real young Iraqis are available for people to come meet and talk to. They may need protected identities.
A balance of viewpoints may be strived for.

3. Scales of Injustice - various scales piled with dead bodies, money, arms, starving children, a showcase for shocking and gruesome 3-D statistical display techniques.

4. Virtual Sex for Real Peace - that's right, lets get all those virtual sexworkers of all persuasion together for a pay for a peace orgy. Proceeds to moveon.org? or....?

Venice Arts Council News

2006-05-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Art or not Art? Political or not Political? You Decide.

Endangered Art Fund
Photos of Endangered Art
Clean Money Meeting Tuesday
Re-opening of Venice Pier
Protest Loss of Affordable Housing
March for a Dog Beach
Inconvenient Truth Trailer
Artists supporting Marcy Winograd
beyondbaroque - Small Press Festival Monday
venicearts - Exploring Gentrification in Venice - Photos
electriclodge - Organic Orchestra
7 Dudley Cinema - Arthur Lipsett
Roy Zimmerman and Paul Krassner at Parlor Performances.
Badma Khanda Concerts
Juliet Annerino's Memorial Day Performance
Street Tech
Monsters in Fine Art
Zoom Forever
In Memory of Douglas Adams
Poetry wall in Virtual World
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Endangered Art Fund Committee:

The Venice Arts Council (VAC) is launching the Endangered Art Fund to restore and protect public art in Venice. The Council decided to start with public art along the Ocean Front Walk beginning with graffiti removal and restoring the Endangered Species mural. Muralist and VAC Chair Emily Winters, in consultation with Debra Padilla, Executive Director at SPARC is preparing a budget, time line and crew. Emily is in communication with Glen Freeman, property manager for the building where her mural is located, who is delighted to see the mural restored and is willing to contribute funds towards the repairs.

Below you will find a link to photos of murals and poetry walls along the Ocean Front Walk taken by Eric Ahlberg.
Fred Dewey, Executive Director at Beyond Baroque is checking with the City of Los Angeles to see if the work on the Poetry Walls is guaranteed. If not, he will investigate contractors and solicit bids to repair the walls and prepare a plan to restore the Poetry walls at the LAPD substation and restroom exterior walls.

In addition, Laura Ferre from Venice High School Alumni Association is working to repair and re-install the Myrna Loy statue at Venice High School. The Association has raised $15,000 towards the $120,000 budget. She will be forwarding photos and information on their campaign to restore the statue.

The Budget Committee, Executive Committee, Art Committee Chair and Ocean Front Walk Committee of the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Council have all been approached for support in the amount of $5,000 to kick start the fund. Daniel Samakow and James Evans of James Beach, Canal Club and soon to be Danny's Venice Beach Deli have agreed to help raise funds. Ben Schonbrun of Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman is willing to hold a fundraiser at his office located on Park and OFW, directly across from the mural. So once we have budgets and a fundraising plan, we can get started on the repairs.

Fred, Emily and I will be meeting on Tuesday morning to coordinate efforts and plan for a meeting with all of you. We welcome your suggestions and ideas, especially identifying potential funding sources.
------------------------------------------------
Photos about Venice Boardwalk Murals and Poetry and Grafitti: I have taken a large number of photographs to illustrate a number of issues in our community. Topics are: 1. grafitti on murals 2. grafitti and grafitti cleaning are obscuring the Boardwalk Poetry 3. usage of Venice Blvd adjacent public property. Please add comments.

These at http://www.flickr.com/photos/venicevandal
There are a number of collections there.
You'll also find Bill Tompkins wonderful paintings of Venice Boardwalk Characters...and some photos from the Artwalk.
---------------------------
Please join Los Angeles City Councilmembers Bill Rosendahl, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel
for a TOWN HALL on CLEAN MONEY How does it work? What could it mean for Los Angeles?
WHEN: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Venice High School 13000 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90066
WHY: To raise public awareness & understanding of Clean Money programs and give you an opportunity to weigh in with your thoughts and ideas.
--------------------------------------------------
Come Celebrate the reopening of the Venice Pier
Friday night at 5:15 PM, come to the pier at the end of Washington to celebrate the reopening.
---------------------------
Join us on Lincoln Blvd. Protest the Loss of Affordable Housing in Venice and Los Angeles.
Sunday, May 28th 4-6 PM Lincoln Blvd. and California
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This Sunday, May 28 at 3 pm -- on the grassy area of Jocelyn Park, west of dog park.

ALL dog lovers are invited to a preliminary planning meeting to plan the dog parade/media event in June.
MARCH FOR A DOG BEACH

-------------------------------------
An Inconvenient Truth - You can check out the trailer here.
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Artists supporting Marcy Winograd:

Impeach Team Commercial

Currently running on Air America.

W.I.N.O.G.R.A.D.

Campaign song for Marcy, written and performed by hip hop artist Wil B.

Beat Jane

Parody song by Leon Rubenhold, to the tune of Sweet Jane.

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beyondbaroque

29 May, Monday — 10 AM -6 PM

SMALL PRESS FESTIVAL & CONVENTION
@ the Church in Ocean Park
235 Hill Street
Santa Monica
(Accessible to wheelchairs & on
Big Blue Buses #1, #2, & #8 - & MTA #33.)

SCHEDULE:

10-10:45 AM: The history & contributions of the small press in LA.
10:45 AM: RED HEN PRESS
w/ Charles Harper Webb, Rex Wilder, Sholeh Wolpe
11:30 AM: LUMMOX PRESS
w/ Raindog
12:15 PM: SYBARITIC PRESS
w/ Steve Goldman, Marie Lecrivain
1 PM: CAHUENGA PRESS
w/ James Cushing, Harry Northup, Holly Prado
1:45 PM: SACRED BEVERAGE PRESS
w/ Amelie Frank
2:30 PM: METROPOLIS HOPPER BOOKS
w/ Randall Fleming, Teka-Lark
3:15 PM: GATSBY MAGAZINE
4 PM: BEYOND BAROQUE BOOKS
w/ Simone Forti, Eric Priestley, Pablo Capra
4:45 PM: The Great American Poetry Show
w/ Larry Ziman

Join us for readings, refreshments, and an enlightening day of learning about the significance of small presses to the history of Los Angeles. Publishers will have their books on display. Everyone is welcome but a DONATION IS SUGGESTED. Proceeds go toward the social justice work of the Church in Ocean Park. For more info contact FRED WHITLOCK, (310) 578-6030.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Venice Arts: In Neighborhoods

Exploring gentrification in Venice

The Intermediate/Advanced Black & White Photography Class spent several weeks in the winter of 2006 exploring the idea of gentrification in Venice.

Students photographed the community and conducted interviews to document perspectives on change.

Click on the links to view a selection of student photographic work and listen to their interviews with community members.

----------------------------------------------------
electriclodge

ORGANIC ORCHESTRA

Wednesday-Sunday, May 24-June 4, 8:00 pm – Wed-Thurs, $15; Fri-Sat-Sun, $20; $50 for 10-night pass (no advance reservations; cash at the door)

Electric Lodge resident music artist, composer and performer Adam Rudolph has constructed music using innovative and experimental means without the use of western music notation, using music/letter grids, language themes, Indian Ragas and song forms to create the moods, movement and sonic gestures. The Orchestra is made up of many of Los Angeles leading performers as well as young developing musicians. Each of the 10 performances will feature between 12 and 48 performers—each night will be unique, featuring a different combination of artists who will improvisationally interpret the compositions in a creative ritual of the now.

-----------------------------------------------------

7 Dudley Cinema

TUESDAY, May 30. ARTHUR LIPSETT REVIVAL: Archivist Johannes Auvinen will be present to screen legendary Canadian avant-gardist Arthur Lipsett's FREE FALL ('64,9m), 21-87 ('64, 10m), A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE ('65, 13m), FLUXES ('64, 24m) and VERY NICE, VERY NICE ('61, 7m), described by Stanley Kubrick as "one of the most imaginative and brilliant uses of the movie screen and soundtrack that I have ever seen." George Lucas called him "one of the best abstract filmmakers." Discussion will connect Lipsett's intense critiques of dehumaization in industrial society with the ideas of Erich Fromm, Marshall McLuhan, and the Situationists. Preshow 7pm: Hear newly released vinyl pressings of the Lipsett collage soundtracks. Lipsett is to film what Glen Gould is to music. 5:30pm preshow film: THE SECRET ('06, 90m) explores quantum physics.

------------------------------------------------------
Parlor Performances

*** Sat., June 3 @ 8:30pm * $25 * Investigative satirist PAUL KRASSNER &
Singing satirist ROY ZIMMERMAN 

About Krassner... Over the years, Paul Krassner has built up a cult
following that has steadily been edging into mainstream awareness. The
New York Times calls him "... an expert at ferreting out hypocrisy and
absurdism from the more solemn crannies of American culture."  The Los
Angeles Times says Krassner "...has the uncanny ability to alter your
perceptions permanently."  And the San Francisco Examiner declared that
"Krassner is absolutely compelling.  He has lived on the edge so long he
gets his mail delivered there."

About Zimmerman... What's funny about war, poverty, ignorance, bigotry,
neo-conservatism, homophobia, greed, lust and fear? Ask Roy Zimmerman.
He's been  writing satirical songs for 20 years. Zimmerman founded and
wrote all the material for the comedy folk quartet The Foremen
(Warner/Reprise artists)  who toured extensively, opening for Bill Maher,
Dennis Miller, and even for President Bill Clinton. The Los Angeles Times
noted Roy's "�lacerating wit and keen awareness of society's foibles...a
latter-day Tom Lehrer." Roy's fans include Joni Mitchell and Tom Lehrer!

PARLOR PERFORMANCES@STEINWAY HALL * 12121 W. Pico Bl. (one door w. of
Bundy under Fields Pianos, Level P2) * Park Free in Lot! *  Pay by
cash/check only -- save $5 with RSVP 7 days or more in advance * RSVP &
Info: (310) 471-3979 or e-mail frankent1@juno.com

------------------------------------------------------

Badma Khanda
U.S TOUR 2006
MASTERS OF TRADITIONAL
MONGOLIAN MUSIC & THROAT SINGING

Sunday, May 28th 6pm
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
Koreatown, Los Angeles 4279 West 3rd Street 90020
Contact: Patrick Bathuya 213-446-1757
Hosted by California Mongolian Community
Association, Los Angeles Tickets $10

Wednesday, May 31st n 8pm
KEHILLAT ISRAEL Pacific Palisades
16019 Sunset Blvd. 90272
Public is invited! Tickets $20 at the door

--------------------------------------------
from Juliet Annerino
Memorial Day. No doubt, you will BBQ. You will drink beer. You may fraternize
with friends and loved ones. After all, you are an American!

But wait... Aren't we almost forgetting something here, People?
Something REALLY important???

Something majestic and colourful, something that involves
sacrifice, good will toward your fellow man (and woman), a fan dancer
wearing pasties and sequins, a performance poet in a white top hat, a
torch singer in chainmail, a man hanging out in a bar claiming to be
Jesus, a Jewish straight woman in love with a bi-sexual man, a couple
in bondage wear, the man also a singer, the woman a
trumpet-player...YES! AND CAN YOU BELIEVE YOU ALMOST FORGOT
THAT?! This Sunday, Ladies and Gentlemen, proud and patriotic citizens,
let us join together and raise our drinks at King King (6555
hollywood Blvd., at Whitley), where "The Lord's Lover" will be held at 8pm
sharp until about 9:15pm and experience together the glory that is
this great country of ours! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

OK, I'm getting a little teared up now...just go here for some
half-price (or free) tix, will you?
http://www.goldstarevents.com/events/event/7877.html
LitLoveLivesLarge, Juliet http://www.TheLordsLover.com
---------------------------------------------

Street Tech - Hardware beyond the hype - http://www.streettech.com/index.php
Monsters in Fine Art http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=10374&display=photoshop#entries
Zoom forever http://interact10ways.com/usa/information_interactive.htm
In Memory of Douglas Adams, Today..is (was) towel day. http://www.towelday.kojv.net/

--

the Venice Poetry Wall in Second Life
Eric Ahlberg
www.veniceartscouncil.org
www.myspace.com/b91s
lapoliticalart.blogspot.com
www.flickr/photos/venicevandal

The Skirball Cultural Center presents RWANDA: AFTER DARFUR: NOW

2006-05-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

The Skirball Cultural Center presents
RWANDA: AFTER
DARFUR: NOW
Photographs by Michal Ronnen Safdie
May 24 – October 1, 2006

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90049 (Exit Skirball Center Drive off the 405)
(310) 440-4500, fax (310) 440-4595
Contact: Stacy Lieberman (310) 440-4578, or Mia Carino (310) 440-4544
Email, communications@skirball.org
Web site, http://www.skirball.org
Please direct e-mail inquiries about the exhibition to the Center's address (above); DO NOT use “Reply” button, it will send to ArtScene.
To view formatted version of this announcement online:
http://artscenecal.com/Announcements/0506/Skirball0506.html

Michal Ronnen Safdie, “Orphaned Child with Grandmother, Bahai Refugee Camp”, 2004.

Los Angeles—The Skirball Cultural Center will present Rwanda/After, Darfur/ Now: Photographs by Michal Ronnen Safdie, featuring nearly forty color and black-and-white photographs from the Central African countries of Rwanda and Chad. In October of 2002, Ronnen Safdie traveled to post-genocide Rwanda with Samantha Power, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Problem from Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide, to witness and document the pilot phase of a traditional, citizen-based tribunal process known as the Gacaca (pronounced ga-CHA-cha). In September of 2004, she traveled to the Bahai refugee camp, a desolate site on the Chadian border of Sudan, where she documented the hardships of refugees who have fled the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Rwanda/After, Darfur/Now: Photographs by Michal Ronnen Safdie will be on view from May 24 through October 1, 2006.

The exhibition, which is presented during a season of New Photography exhibitions at the Skirball, including The Jewish Identity Project: New American Photography and L.A. River Reborn, will be accompanied by a variety of public programs, including evenings with well-known authors Samantha Power and Gabriel Meyer, African music concerts and additional film and drama presentations.

Born in Jerusalem in 1951, Michal Ronnen Safdie is known for contemporary art photography highlighting the anthropomorphic and abstract qualities of nature. As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Ronnen Safdie’s trip to Rwanda in 2002 evoked suppressed memories of her childhood. Though her mother shared few details of her experience, Ronnen Safdie always felt the presence of that “unspoken and unanswerable question of the capacity of humanity to do evil.” By depicting the humanity of genocide survivors in the face of the atrocities they were subjected to by their own neighbors and governments, she hopes to “arouse us out of our opacity as bystanders.”

Ronnen Safdie’s Rwanda photographs, taken eight years after a horrifying genocide left 800,000 dead and over 100,000 in prison, depict the country’s efforts to provide justice, truth and national reconciliation to its citizens. Her images of the Gacaca courts expose the emotionally-charged quality of this process as prisoners confess to their crimes and ask for forgiveness, while onlookers and victims offer evidence. Photographs of neatly arranged skulls and sacks full of bones in the Ntarama church accentuate the harsh reality of human cruelty. Her work is a photographic testimony to a population still struggling with the legacy of genocide.

With her images of the Bahai camp, framed matter-of-factly against the stark, barren environment the refugees have been forced into, she challenges the viewer to look at the consequences of violence. The vast, treeless desert devoid of even the most basic resources necessary to sustain life was home to 18,000 Darfurian refugees in 2004—most of them women and children—who were the survivors of genocide, the so-called “lucky ones,” who now face starvation, disease, the threat of attack and the possibility of never again returning to their homes. The passive gazes of survivors in Ronnen Safdie’s photographs reflect their shock at the horror they witnessed.

Safdie’s photographs quietly reveal the unavoidable truth that violence occurs under a full sun and in plain view. Her focus on human beings, both those trying to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of genocide and those who struggle daily to eke out a life when robbed of everything important to them, underscores the tragic lack of attention the rest of the world gave and gives to these people.

“With her photographs, Michal Ronnen Safdie will not allow us to forget. If we averted our gaze during the genocide, she has insisted that we fix our gaze on its aftermath,” says Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. “If we needed any reminder of the human lives at stake in this endeavor, [she] has offered it. And for that, we are all very grateful.”

The Skirball Cultural Center presents Rwanda/After, Darfur/Now as part of the series “The World Now: Global Understanding through Arts and Culture.”

“Genocide impacts each of us,” comments Uri D. Herscher, Founding President and CEO, Skirball Cultural Center. “By passive observation of the murder of defenseless millions of men, women and children, we ourselves become accomplices. We are impelled to search our hearts and ask how such events are to be prevented, stopped when they have not been prevented and civility restored once they have been stopped. Our hope in presenting this exhibition is to inspire visitors to help secure a world in which everyone is safe and can feel at home.”

Michal Ronnen Safdie is author of The Western Wall (1997), a book of photographs with an introduction by Yehuda Amichai, which also took the form of an international traveling exhibition. Her work has been exhibited at Salander-O’Reilly Galleries in New York, Robert Klein Gallery in Boston, and Tel Aviv University Art Gallery. Her photographs are included in museum and private collections, including George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, and The Jewish Museum in New York.

Many related programs accompany Rwanda/After, Darfur/Now. On Monday, May 22, author and Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government professor Samantha Power will discuss “Genocide Sixty Years After the Holocaust: Have We Moved Beyond Remorse?” In conjunction with Town Hall Los Angeles, award-winning journalist Gabriel Meyer, author of War and Faith in Sudan, will lecture on Tuesday, June 20. ThongJieng will perform in concert on Thursday, July 6 and The Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone will perform on Thursday, July 20, as part of the free Sunset Concert series. A documentary film about the group will be screened on Wednesday, July 19 and from August 16–19, the U.K.’s Unlimited Theatre presents the U.S. premiere of “Static,” a satiric play by Chris Thorpe addressing television news coverage of tragic events. Finally, on September 7, a slide lecture, “Hungry Planet with Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio,” will explore the effects of conflict, poverty and globalization on family nourishment. Please see attached for further details on all of the exhibition-related programs.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Audrey’s Museum Store will be selling “Save a Child, Save the World” t-shirts to help create global awareness. In-kind support has been provided by American Apparel, with all proceeds directly supporting elementary school education in Darfur.

This exhibition has been fully supported by seven anonymous donors.

Visiting the Skirball: The Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (exit Skirball Center Drive off the 405). Museum Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12–5 p.m., Thursday until 9 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Monday. Gallery admission prices: $8 General, $6 Seniors. Free for Skirball Members, Students and Children under 12. Ruby Gallery exhibitions are free to the public. Admission to all exhibitions is free to the public on Thursday. Parking is free, except on Thursday evenings during the Sunset Concerts series from July 20 through August 24, 2006. For general information, the public may call (310) 440-4500 or visit http://www.skirball.org.

The Skirball is also home to Zeidler’s Café, which serves innovative California cuisine in an elegant setting, and Audrey’s Museum Store, which sells books, contemporary art, music and more.

About the Skirball: The Skirball Cultural Center is dedicated to exploring the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. It welcomes and seeks to inspire people of every ethnic and cultural identity. Guided by our respective memories and experiences, together we aspire to build a society in which all of us can feel at home. The Skirball Cultural Center achieves its mission through educational programs that explore literary, visual, and performing arts from around the world; through the display and interpretation of its permanent collections and changing exhibitions; through scholarship in American Jewish history and related publications; and through outreach to the community.

---------------------

Venice Art Walk

2006-05-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

Venice Art Walk & Auctions, May 20 & 21, 2006
Note: New date and location for Silent Art Auction

Tickets:
See individual events, below

For tickets and additional information:
310.392.9255
Web site, http://www.veniceartwalk.info
E-mail, info@venicefamilyclinic.org
Please direct e-mail inquiries about the event to the Art Walk’s address (above); DO NOT use “Reply” button, it will send to ArtScene.
To view formatted version of this announcement online:
http://artscenecal.com/Announcements/0506/VeniceArtWalk0506.html

That’s right, this year’s Venice Art Walk & Auctions is a TWO-DAY event! If you’ve never experienced it, then you’re in for one of the great contemporary art events in America. And if you’ve walked the Walk before, you’re going to love what’s new for 2006. Either way, you’ll enjoy knowing that all proceeds benefit Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the country, providing health care to more than 21,000 low-income and uninsured patients per year.

Auction Party- New Event!
Saturday, May 20, 6:00 to 10:00 pm
Located at Berman/Turner Projects and Track 16 at Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica
Tickets:
$50 per person advance purchase by May 18; $75 at the door
$130 per person Art Walk Weekender includes all Saturday and Sunday events
Tickets and additional information at http://www.veniceartwalk.info or 310.392.9255

Featuring a Live Auction from 7:00 to 8:00 pm of works by:
Carlos Almaraz, Chuck Arnoldi, Larry Bell, Robbie Conal, Laddie John Dill, Doug Edge, Ron English, Po Shun Leong, Kim McCarty, Ed Moses, Raymond Pettibon, Astrid Preston, Ed Ruscha, Judy Stabile, Robert Weingarten

…and a Silent Art Auction of nearly 400 pieces by world-renowned LA-area artists from 6:00 to 8:45 pm. (Free preview and proxy bidding from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.)

Plus:
- Fabulous food by Upstairs 2
- Divine drink by Sauza Hornitos, Tres Generaciones, and Pom Wonderful
- Magical music by Washington Prep

Architecture as Art
Saturday, May 20, Noon to 4 pm
Begin at Westminster School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
Tickets
$50 per person
$130 per person Art Walk Weekender includes all Saturday and Sunday events
Tickets and additional information at http://www.veniceartwalk.info or 310.392.9255

Experience an inside-out view of the beach and beyond from the fabulous homes on Ocean Front Walk in Venice. Speak to the designers and architects about their concepts, influences and view unique sculpture and art created and collected by the homeowners. Let our docents guide you through the fabulous homes available for viewing.

Homes by:
Dennis Gibbens, CC Partners, Paul Bailey, Antoine Predock, Miguel Angelo Flores, Lenny Steinberg Design Associates

Venice Art Walk Day
Sunday, May 21, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Westminster School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
Registration opens at 10:30 am; studios and exhibitions open 11:30 am to 4:30 pm

The Venice Art Walk Studio Tours include more than 60 private artists’ studios, homes and special exhibits! Free shuttle buses run continuously throughout the day and will be there to help you cover more ground and see more art.

Plus:
- 150-piece Focus on Photography Silent Auction - New Event!
- Deals & Steals Silent Auction
- Food Faire & live music

Tickets
$50 per person
$130 per person Art Walk Weekender includes all Saturday and Sunday events
Tickets and additional information at http://www.veniceartwalk.info or 310.392.9255

“Arte de Alta California” Exhibit at Carlotta's Passion Fine Art

2006-05-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

“Arte de Alta California” Exhibit at Carlotta's Passion Fine Art, May 20 – June 25

Mr. Cheech Marin is a serious man when it comes to Chicano art. His major collection is touring museums throughout the United States as a show entitled “Chicano Visions”. Per Mr. Marin, “…the Chicano School of Painting has always been about reinterpreting a culture. That culture has been shown to be diverse yet unified, profane and spiritual, traditional and avant-garde… While other “schools” of painting have been defined overwhelmingly by stylistic concerns, the Chicano School combines stylistic innovation with elements of tradition. The blending of Mexican popular and religious iconography with modern images of urban angst reflects the continually evolving role of Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, within the larger American society. This mix of sophistication and naiveté, combined with a socio-political overlay, has produced a uniquely American school of painting based on Chicano content that is at the same time universal in its aesthetics of the human condition.”

Carlotta's Passion Fine Art is proud to host “Arte de Alta California”, an exhibit of works by Chicano and so-called “Latin American” artists who reside and work in Southern California.

“Arte de Alta California” includes works by some the most highly visible artists in the Chicano art scene, as well those by rising stars.

This exhibit offers works by Cynthia Alarcon, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin, Olivia Barrionuevo, Alfredo de Batuc, Guillermo Bejarano, David Botello, Carlos Bueno, Mari Cardenas, David Flury, Margaret Garcia, Jesús M. Mena Garza, Yolanda Gonzalez, GRONK, Wayne Healy, Sergio Hernandez, Katia Karloff, Leo Limon, Gilbert "Magu" Lujan, Andres Montoya, Roberto Munguia, Omar Ramirez, Frank Romero, Hector Silva, Rudy Torres, and Patssi Valdez.

“Arte de Alta California” runs from May 20 – June 25.

Please join us for the opening reception of this five-star visual fiesta on Saturday, May 20^th, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm.

Bob Squires

Director/Owner

Carlotta's Passion Fine Art

2012 Colorado Blvd. (The cross street is Maywood Avenue)

Los Angeles, CA 90041 (Eagle Rock)

Tel: 323.259.1563

Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 12:00 - 9:00 p.m. Open by appointment only on Monday and Tuesday.

Code Pink Declares Peace at the White House on Mother's Day

2006-05-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

May 18, 2006

Dear suzanne,

This past weekend, CODEPINK transformed the park in front of the White House. The lawn became a magical space filled with families reclaiming the historical origin of Mother's Day as a time to work for peace. Cindy Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, Patch Adams, Dick Gregory and Iraqi and Iranian women added their voices and talents to our 24-hour peace vigil.

We literally put our bodies on the line to create a beautiful aerial image spelling "Mom Says NO WAR." We held teach-ins on Iraq, Iran, immigrant rights, Katrina and more. We cried with moms who lost their children; we prayed with Native American healers; we read letters to Laura Bush; we sang and danced and created a powerful and compassionate community. At the close of the 24 hours, we tied roses with names of the dead onto the White House fence, and as we chanted "No More War, No More War", the rain that was predicted for both days suddenly burst forth as if cleansing our nation's soul. You can see photos at our virtual vigil here. A dedicated group of CODEPINK women took inspiration from the weekend and decided to stay in DC for a month, taking action at Congress every day to demand an end to war. Click here to read more about their action plans.

The words of one of the attendees, Ruth Gordon, speak to the transformative power of this weekend:

"I spent Mother's Day weekend with CODEPINK in front of the White House and it changed my life! I had been in a downward spiral of loneliness, separating myself from others in order to avoid pain. I met wonderful men and women that weekend and experienced a connection based on mutual respect, love and compassion. I had forgotten what it felt like to feel joy and purpose. I had forgotten that life lies outside of work, TV, and sleep and instead lies in purposeful direction and focus. I will never forget Spice's ecstatic dancing, Patch's hug, Cindy's impassioned speech, the chants, the songs, the beautiful faces, the children, the beaming pregnant woman with the belly peace sign... Once home, I wrote a letter to the editor (printed!), bought more peace paraphernalia, took my walk singing peace songs instead of listening to FM, and spoke with friends about my experience.
I WILL NOT STOP!!!! The next part of my life has begun..."

While the entire weekend was filled with magical moments, one stood out. Comedian and civil rights leader Dick Gregory -- legendary for fasting against the Vietnam War -- was in Cleveland en route to California when he saw the CODEPINK vigil on CNN, and immediately changed planes to join us in DC. There he met environmentalist/author and CODEPINK cofounder Diane Wilson, who earlier had called all of us to up our commitment and join her in a hunger strike. The two of them joined together and called us to a long-term fast to bring the troops home. Cindy Sheehan, CODEPINK members, military families and Iraqi vets have already agreed to join.

On July 4, we will launch an historic hunger strike called TROOPS HOME FAST. While many Americans will be expressing their patriotism via barbeques and fireworks, we'll be fasting in memory of the dead and wounded, and calling for our nation to be the democracy it was created to be, not an empire. We're inviting people around the world to show their support for this open-ended fast by committing to fast for one day -- July 4 -- plus as many more days as you can handle. Please sign here to join us and encourage your friends to do the same. Together, we can bring our troops home.

With love from your tired but elated CODEPINK gals,
Allison, Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae and Tiffany

P.S. Check out all the other ways you can join with CODEPINK this summer.

To unsubscribe click here

Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice

2006-05-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Following in the bootsteps of other Nashville renegades who eventually outgrew country radio, the Dixie Chicks answer their critics with the unapologetic Taking the Long Way. Their seventh studio album embraces the depth and fury of classic rock while remaining true to the trio's Texas roots. Rather than try to forget about singer Natalie Maines' anti-Bush remarks of 2003 -- which landed them in hot water with a lot of station program directors -- the threesome declares it's still "Not Ready to Make Nice" and employs Semisonic guy Dan Wilson, Jayhawk Gary Louris and other unlikely contributors to help write hooks as strong as their own sentiments. Producer Rick Rubin enlists Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and guitarist Mike Campbell to supply thick and gritty accompaniment that raises the urgency level of the album. If you've dismissed the Chicks or need a new reason to love them, the epic, howling longing of "Voice Inside My Head" will blow your expectations.

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/10193414/rid/10203846/