Weekend Update with “Three Things” answered…

Heading off to a birthday party in 5 min. However, I can’t remember on whose blog I saw this but here are my answers:

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
1. Being confronted by somebody pointing a gun at me.
2. Extremely rough airplane flights.
3. Free swimming in the deep ocean.

THREE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ME LAUGH:
1. My niece.
2. A co-worker (because he’s pathetic)
3. Miguel (long time cycling buddy)

THREE THINGS I LOVE:
1. My own cooking.
2. My niece.
3. Myself (it might sound egotistic but it’s not).

THREE THINGS I HATE:
1. Dishonesty.
2. Backstabbers.
3. Driving in rush hour traffic.

THREE THINGS I DON’T UNDERSTAND:
1. Automobile engine mechanics.
2. Web server administration.
3. Why some people get pleasure from the pain of others.

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK:
1. Computer.
2. Scanner.
3. Phone.

THREE THINGS I’M DOING RIGHT NOW:
1. Typing this!
2. Writing an essay/commentary.
3. Thinking about moving my car to the back of the bldg.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:
1. Publish a book (in progress).
2. Museum solo exhibition.
3. Buy a house/studio in the woods or some rural place.

THREE THINGS I CAN DO:
1. Write reasonably well.
2. Create art in a variety of media.
3. Cook well enough to make yo momma holla’.

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY:
1. Not excitable.
2. Intense.
3. Deliberate and methodical.

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY LOOKS:
1. Slim
2. Lean.
3. Young.

THREE THINGS I CAN’T DO:
1. Be dishonest with myself.
2. Become somebody other than myself.
3. Stop loving somebody that I told, “I love you.”

THREE THINGS I SAY THE MOST:
1. “Chile puhleeze.”
2. “Humph!”
3. “I bet you do!”

THREE OF YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS:
1. My grandmother’s sweet potatoe pie. (deceased)
2. My mom’s apple pie. (deceased)
3. My grandmother’s pound cake. (deceased)

THREE THINGS YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN:
1. Highest level of music composition.
2. To speak Spanish, Italian, French, Portugese, Yoruba, Ewe, and (Haitian) Kreole, all fluently.
3. Web server administration.

THREE BEVERAGES YOU DRINK REGULARLY:
1. Water.
2. Cranberry juice.
3. Latté.

THREE SHOWS YOU WATCHED WHEN YOU WERE A KID:
1. “Ed Sullivan”
2. “Soupy Sales”
3. “Saturday Night movies”

More Nina Simone…

NPR’s Tavis Smiley talks to contributor Michael Eric Dyson about jazz great Nina Simone. Tavis Smiley talks to singer and pianist Shirley Horn about the life and legacy of the great songwriter, singer and pianist, Nina Simone. Simone passed away April 21.

Join Talk of the Nation for a remembrance of jazz legend Nina Simone, who died Monday at age 70. Guests: Chandra Brown *Childhood friend of Nina Simone’s daughter W.S. Tkweme *Doctoral Student in African-American Studies at University of Massachus…

+ = + = + = + = + = +

Another women of note: Before Watson and Crick, Brenda Maddox, author of Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA, describes the discoveries that lead scientists to focus on DNA as the secret behind life. The Secret of Photo 51

Nina Simone

I just found out Nina Simone died… a huge loss.

She was a classically trained pianist, yet gained fame singing in a style reminiscent of Billie Holiday. She later became known as a protest singer for penning fiery songs that chronicled the pain, pride and hope of the U.S. civil rights movement.

In a 1998 interview, Simone blamed racism in the United States for her decision to live abroad, saying that as a black person, she had “paid a heavy price for fighting the establishment.” She was said to be extremely bitter.

I totally understand… (a 12 yr. hiatus for me)

Music: Nina Simone

Last week of the semester…

Semester ends this week, final projects due, and Friday, final exams at 7:45am! That’s an insane schedule. I already have to get up at 5:30am for my 9am class. Of course, I cook breakfast before leaving. The class is 3 hours long.

Personal projects can commence next week after finals are submitted. This is a good thing. It will also give me some time to send out another application I found today for an institution that does independent study, my favorite kind of college work. Self-motivated students that create their own course of study grow beyond their own beliefs. Most of my grad classmates went through grad school totally changed. Two women found themselves reading feminist & gender works (since their art already dealt with those subjects), delved deeper into themselves, graduated, went home, divorced and started new lives! I wish both lived closer, we had a blast in school.

Today was also one of the Cycling World Cup races, Amstel Gold. Lance Armstrong raced it but ended up 8th. He’s not a single day racer but he said he loved that race. He’s planning on racing a couple more one days races then take the entire month of May to train for the Tour de France. Most cyclists race and take some time off to stay sharp but, he wants to go into the history books by winning his 5th Tour AND doing it consecutively. Only Miguel Indurain has done that. Lance thinks he will try for the 6th making him the only cyclist to do it, if he succeeds. His coach and I used to train and race together before he went into coaching.

cover Glen Gould Piano Works: in my ears. His playing is cool and precise.

Has Conceptualism Hit A Dead End?

If you are interested in art, this is a must read. :: Battles over the legitimacy of conceptual art occupied a good part of the 20th Century. In the 21st Century those concluding that art has taken a wrong turn with conceptualism are a growing chorus. “The world of fine art now appears exclusively concerned with semiotics, ?the crisis in representation? and other academic matters. Visiting a gallery in the hope of being made to stare in wonder is, according to the prevailing critical theory, ‘sentimental’ and ‘naïve’. Beauty, it would seem, is merely something to be analysed in a cloud of righteous deconstruction. However, the rapidity with which conceptual art evaporates from our consciousness undermines such grandiose pretensions. Once the tribal rituals of endorsement or derision have passed, the oeuvres of our more prominent artists actually evoke very little sense of meaning or avant-garde unease.” Eye: the International Review of Graphic Design 04/03

Editor for MAEx

About time… I got an email from a highly qualified person for me to hand over the reigns of control and, he has volunteered to be the New Editor! I emailed him the keys! … just kidding. After we exchange protocols, I can work on other things for the site. A web design person volunteered yesterday. I’ll be fully released soon… I maintain 8+ sites.

Carmell Jones

Weekly Roundup

Thanks to the motivation of jawnBC, I’ve been working on my writing projects with the kind of focus needed to end up with the quality writing I should have. Even though the writing is for MiamiArtExchange (MAEx), I should publish an abstract there and have the full version published in ArtPapers, Atlanta (where I’ve had work published in the past). Getting paid is what I need to happen. My tenure of being the volunteer Editor of MAEx has been for 14 months and now is the time for someone else in this art community to step forward and take over. It’s very difficult to do as much as is needed without a staff. I did have some help with the calendar and now a new person is taking care of it. Anyway…

Semester is ending soon. Students need to have their projects finalized this week, next week is the last week of regular classes, then finals. I’m under pressure, too. The economy is tight and again, I have no classes this summer. Being an adjunct is so unstable… I should go back into construction work. I have one company I know would hire me at the drop of a hat because I was just about the only employee that didn’t smoke pot on the job (or off).

My mind went wandering over those guys… mercy! One guy, a ‘biker’, and I ended hanging out quite a bit after we both left that job. I was working on my bachelor’s degree then. He was working on having a good time. His beard was so sexy… *wink*