Akon - Freedom Webisode 1

this is exactly how i feel....minus still being able to do amazing art:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWUPcEW2rOU

i'd post it, but they won't let me.

in love,
ge

The Shade

this is a really nice short film [you're a really nice short film]. it is tragic, yes, but it is also beautiful and profound.

little kids want ice cream. it's a universal thing.

in love,
ge

Opening Scene from "Werckmeister Harmonies"

opening scene from the best movie i haven't seen yet. thanks, haven.

in love,
ge

"Tranny Triptych" - Morty Diamond and Glenn Marla

hello friends! today's post is a powerful one. it features morty diamond (sex educator, performance artist, filmmaker, etc.) and glenn marla (performance artist, burlesque superstar). i had the pleasure of meeting glenn by way of serendipity in nyc. one night, we discovered that we had two mutual friends: his roommate, thailan, and dave end. what a world!

what i think is amazing about this video is that it manages to be vulnerable and artistic and playful all at the same time. so often the sharing of our stories and difficulties happens in a spirit of absolute seriousness with somber tones (understandably). but this bit of wonderfulness manages to express these stories in a way that is playful, loving, and open, without diminishing the emotional honesty of what is being shared. a truly remarkable accomplishment.

in love,
ge


glenn marla: www.myspace.com/smulyan
morty diamond: www.myspace.com/mortydiamond

"The House of Beauty" - Mark Doty

nobody reads a poem like mark doty. it's as if he is speaking each word for the first time, careful not to waste any sounds that might be missed by speaking without care. if you like poetry at all and you've never been to the dodge poetry festival, you haven't lived. it's sacred and holy. people get together for five days and read poetry to each other. what is better than that?

Rocket Man - WIlliam Shatner

incredible.

Papiroflexia - zell777

god bless user generated content.

in love,
ge

Muto - Blu

well, thus far, this is the only video about which i can safely say, "i have never seen anything like this."

although it is not particularly uplifting or discernible, it is unbelievably creative and radical. art for everyone! i loved watching it from start to finish. who knows what's going to happen next?!?

thanks john!


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Fire Breathing Fish - Brandon Guy Smith

brandon smith is my brother. we've known each other since the fourth grade. no matter how much time might pass between conversations or visits, he's still my brother. and he blows glass! how cool is that!?! although this video is sped up a bit, it really only takes him about 15 minutes to make a glass fish like this one.

that's pretty awesome.

RR vs. D - Au

ok team, this is one of my favorite new bands, Au. this video is so beautiful to watch. i love the spinning tops!

The Common Fire Foundation! and Climbing Poetree!

so, this is going to be a two part post. this part is about the common fire foundation, started by jeff and kavitha in the hudson valley! (i helped!) jeff and kavitha are really amazing people, and i've been bumming recently that i haven't seen or talked to them in a while. they work so hard to contribute to the world in radical, creative ways, and i am blessed to know them. this video was shot maybe three years ago now, and if you look close enough....you can see me in the background of some of the shots! the footage is primarily from the grand opening ceremony for their super-green co-op building. the event was really fun and joyful. and they got julia butterfly hill and climbing poetree! how cool is that?

i love you, jeff and kavitha. i hope you are well. samiha too!



so, the second part of this post is about climbing poetree. after watching the previous video, you're probably asking yourself, "oh my god, who is climbing poetree? they are amazing." and i am here to reply that they are in fact amazing. i actually found that common fire video looking for videos that featured them (teehee). my friend anna just saw them perform and was blown away by them, which reminded that they are incredible.

i think that what is particularly powerful about the previous common fire video and the following two videos featuring climbing poetree is that both are examples of what is possible. in jeff and kavitha, we have two people who created a non-profit and coordinated the creation of the greenest building in the east, an accomplishment so big that they constantly had to remind people of their long-term commitments to social justice, camps, retreats, etc. and in alixa and naima, we have two women who have decided to let their lives be their vision, who have decided to speak out for justice, who have decided to create radical, transformative art, and who have decided to be alive for the sake of awakening the consciousness and collective power of the masses. not to mention that all of them are so much more than the sum total of these words...

whoah...and can i just say how amazing the poem in the second video is? i just got chills...it reminds me that i gotta start doing some shit. seriously.

thank you. thank you. thank you.

as my mentor trayce says, "you're allowed to shine."

www.commonfire.org
www.climbingpoetree.com

Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Animation by Seth Brau

this is pretty awesome. i have always had a hard time with the notion of "property," but this is a beautiful document. and one cool looking film.

Coded Language - Saul Williams

i needed to get into a poetry writing mood, so i found this little gem. although i've been having mixed feelings about saul williams recently, i.e. his nike endorsement and sub par album release, it cannot be said that he is asleep. i had the blessing to meet saul, and i asked him, "how can you be so sure that revolution is coming?" to which he replied, "have you ever read the tao te ching?" to which i replied, "yeah, a while ago." to which he replied, "maybe you should read it again."

we are the equivalent of three buckets of water and a hand full of minerals.

the last two minutes and twenty seconds is the best part.

where do you find transcendence? or rather, where do you transcend dance?