Music: 4 New CDs

Back from NYC and needed my Waterloo fix. Bonanza! 4 CDs. Add to that a bunch of tunes I will scope out on the SXSW site. Bummer that I misseed it this year.
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm: Full lenght release by these punk-funk Brits after a super EP last year. Guud shtuff.
M.I.A. - Arular: Lots of hype for this Sri-Lankan artist. A very infectious mix of dancehall and hip-hop. A bit of a stretch for me since I have very little hip-hop in my collection.
Ada - Blondie: Indie electronica (tech-house). Good melodies and vibe unlike most electronica releases.
Thunderbirds Are Now - Justamoustache: Spazzy post-punk. Some of the songs are catchy. Not sure if I will hang on to this one.

Travel: impersonation

I went to NYC last week and this was in yesterday's NY Times Style section:
"In some ways, travel always holds within it a degree of impersonation. Setting out for distant lands, the traveler not only leaves behind his home - with its utility bills and nosy neighbors - but he can also leave behind his dreary shopworn self." Scott Spenser

Andhra travelogue by Statesman reporter

A good travel article about Renuka Rayasam's trip to see her family in Andhra Pradesh. She is a reporter for the Austin American Statesman.
A visit to old India
Shopping for a sari, India's fabric of life

Nowruz

A good article about Persian New Year - Eid Nowruz - which is today.

PSLC Week #6: NYC & RISD

I went up to NYC with Aunty Faizeh and Parinaz to help her pick a fashion design school.
So, went to the newly renovated MOMA. I really enjoyed the models and drawings section on the architecture and design floor.
Also went to the Met. I spent time looking their Japanese collection, hoping to see some good ukioyo-e. Also spent a bit of time in photography and looking at a Matisse special exhibit.
We drove up to RISD and I really enjoyed the undergraduate exhibit. MOMA and Met were good, but this was fresh, vital, invigorating.
Also went to see Ashes and Snow with Stef the first day I was in NYC. The Nomadic museum it is housed it was incredible. It felt like being in an old cathedral. The photos were good - sometimes a bit contrived - but mostly beautiful.

PSLC Week #5

I was invited to a rehearsal of Salvage Vanguard Theater's Ghenghis Khan - an opera - which opens next weekend. There were about 20 of us there. It was amazing to see and experience the creative process the group was engaged in. The singing really blew me away too. I am definitely going to see it.

Mumbai nightlife

This is a great article from the travel section of the NY Times about nightlife in Bombay. I wrote about some of these places in my last travelogue.

New CDs

Latest release by the Doves - Some Cities. I love their first two cds and this one is a strong third release. More guitarry than the first one. Not as dark as the first or bright as the second.
Adding to my Stereolab collection - Switched on. Early krautrock work. Simple, infectious, driving beats and melody.

PSLC Week #4

2040 Gallery opening of Sky Above Earth Below. Seeing all 7 of Stella's chakra paintings together was incredible.

Xerox Offset, originally uploaded by Shrez.

Near Dalal street, Bombay. Dec. 2004.

Concert Posters
I am missing SXSW this year - bummer - going to be in NYC - cool. Besides all the great bands, I wanted to catch the concert poster exhibition:
Flatstock. Also came across this book: Art of Modern Rock a few months ago. What great graphic work.

Art: PSLC Week #3

City Hall Art Reception (2/24 w/ Theresa).
70 Austin visual artists have contributed their work for the first annual exhibition. It will be up for a year and then rotated. Organized by Mayor Wynn's wife who is a big arts supporter.
What a great show. Eduardo Muñoz Ordoqui's work was haunting. Theresa introduced me to Stella & Brian. Love this city!

Zeitgeist: Green SoCal

So Much Rain, and Southern California Has Never Seen Such Greens by Verlyn Klinkenborg
Articles like this makes reading the NY Times pure pleasure.

Art / Zeitgeist: Day Jobs and the Creative Class

Great article - Creative Capital? - by Michael Erard. Been thinking a lot about art, artists and how they fit into the fabric of the economy. Great insights.

Books / Poetry: A World Between review in Tx Observer

Came across this book review in The Texas Observer of an anthology my poems were in. A few months ago Peter introduced me to the author of the review - Michael Erard - and he knew my name and mentioned reviewing the book. Glad I came across the review. What an insightful review - he is a very good writer.

Art / Quotes: The cause is hidden..

The cause is hidden; the effect is visible to all. - Ovid
From editor's page of Esopus #3
Human attention has its limits. With barely enough time to focus on our own affairs, we're able to spare only fleeting glances at our larger surroundings. The impressions we form are necessarily shallow - and because of that, easily manipulated.
We may rely on religion or science to deepen them, but art has a unique capacity to inform our perceptions by revealing hidden causes. Rather than telling us "how things are," it offers compelling scraps of evidence that coax us into an active role, encouraging us to work out explanations for ourselves, on our own terms. At its best, it asks questions so effectively that the answers - to the extent that they even exist - can seem insignificant.
Tod Lippy (editor, Esopus Magazine)

Art: PSLC Week 1 & 2

Week 1: Andy Goldsworthy show at AMOA. Awesome. I had forgotten how much I liked his work. Also watch part of Rivers & Tides - documentary about him.
Week 2: Life Drawings - Beth Campbell, Danica Phelps and Eric Schnell at Jones Arthouse. Curated by Regine Basha.

Per call Rs 1, originally uploaded by Shrez.

Kala Ghoda, Bombay. December 2004.

Music: MixCD - Transit

Created this mix cd when I came back from Bombay last month.
Transit: The act of passing over, across, or through; passage.

1. Sola Sistim - Underworld
2. Good Day Sunshine- Slowdive
3. Beautiful Mind - Verve
4. Hands Away- Interpol
5. The Pod- Experimental Aircraft
6. Freedom Fighter - Bowery Electric
   
7. The Outernationalist - Thievery Corporation
   
8. Black Milk - Massive Attack

Technology: Google Maps

Another very-very neat looking tool from Google. Wow! Bye-bye Mapquest and Yahoo Maps.
Google Maps
Found out about it on the Unofficial Google Blog