mushroomtennial

Today would have been John Cage's 100th birthday. I tried to organize an event commemorating his Centennial at Little Berlin, but the few acts that I could draw in fell through. Oh well. We'll be screening One¹¹ with 103, his only feature-length film, alongside what I hope to be the spoils of an amateur mycologists' potluck. Yes, I will try to make recompense for poor planning and insubstantial event-depth with mushroom pizzas. 

It would be really awesome if I could somehow plan an event in the future dedicated to avant and experimental 20th century composers. Can you imagine facilitating a performance of Steve Reich's Pendulum Music? I guess that's not hard to imagine; I've seen videos of it done in high school gymnasiums. Still. 

A general sense of impending failure is sucking on my toes. There are so many things that need to be completed, addressed, etc. I'll never be able to finish all of this stuff - specifically, the items that are to be displayed at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in a joint exhibition with Jason Chen. It doesn't help that most of the materials and subject matter involved with this work are relative

 to entropy, death, and animal remains. 

I sleep about three and a half feet away from a box of deer bones.

ergh

Ascent of the Carnivorous Milky Bar

@ Hung: 2012 Little Berlin Member Show

Blah blah blah blah blah.

Clone-an O'Brien

Completely forgot about this old piece from September '09. There's something wrong with me.

particles

I am currently in the process of slathering white paint all over a garment that took 

over a year and a half to sew.

Also, attempting to build a picture frame out of crown molding in my bedroom may have been the funniest thing I've ever attempted to do.

My hands have not been very obedient lately. They have become imbued with a kind of jerky awkwardness. Of course, this sensation is nowhere close to being novel. We've been through this before. It is not especially useful. I hope I snap out of it soon, along with the sense of hopelessness that generally accompanies the aimless mutiny of my hands.

plans

“If you want to make a Carl Sagan costume from scratch, you must first create the universe.”

trolls

Can't turn my air conditioner on. Blows the circuit every time, because it's really only wired for lamps. Can't do anything on my list of tasks to accomplish.

Tired of living with three other people. Too hot and tired for pronouns, even. Sorry to complain.

This is one of the most insipid things the internet has ever shown me.

floaters

Life is, at the moment, turning out to be a real nail biter. Some shows that I'm involved in and not completely prepared for are speedily approaching, including the Animal Show at Pterodactyl, Laughing In the Face of... at PhilaMOCA, a Sailor Jerry tribute show at Jinxed, a yet-to-be-titled members' show at Little Berlin in August, and possibly a two-person exhibit with Jason Chen (towards the end of September) at Paradigm Gallery's new location in Queen's Village (for which I have to finish lots of things.). In addition, some fairly ambitious plans for the Little Berlin Fairgrounds* are in the process of being formulated. As a new member and a complete coward, I am hesitant to provide a lot of input regarding the matter. I basically don't know what to say about anything. My areas of expertise, which are few and far between, do not even remotely pertain to the facilitation of outdoor performance space construction or the logistics of fundraising and grants. To be sure, I am always willing to help, when my work schedule permits, but I really don't feel like I'm doing enough. I feel like a flake and a failure.

I've got some other issues to contend with, as well, on a more personal level. Not all of them are bad, though. It is more than obvious that I don't know what I'm doing, standing in the eye of all of this chaos.

*I don't think I've ever gone into the details of this subject: Little Berlin has custody of an abandoned lot near the Viking Mill in Fishtown; the organization has taken on the formidable task of transforming the space into a lovely community garden, sculpture park, and outdoor performance space. We acquired a Knight Arts Grant a few months ago, but we're required to match half of the money therein via fundraising in order to access the grant's contents. Fundraising is a bitch. There's a Kickstarter devoted to the cause. Raising money is a mystifying subject about which I know little more than what I gleaned from selling wrapping paper door-to-door as a kid, with the intent of benefitting some cause that was, and still is, a total enigma. I think multiple free personal pizzas from a chain restaurant consistently served as some sort of stimuli, but it was so long ago. So yeah. Money needs to be raised.