Happy Birthday, Jackson

This is a birthday shout-out to mi compadre Jackson Nash, who I am so glad was born this day. He works crazy hard via SUPERFOREST... building and creating and bringing wonderful things to us such as:

The Humanifesto * Thoughts on the American Recovery and Reinvestmant Act * Adventures in business travel * Fantastic drawings * Quoting from SKINNY LEGS AND ALL * The Save a Seed Coalition * Going to movie premieres * Oh, and beyond historical Presidential Inaugurations * The Jackstrap * Buddy Holly's Rave On * Being a fine actor * The Peace Alphabet * Caring enough TO DO!

You are an incredibly thoughtful, whimsically fun, and deep thinker and all these fine qualities make SUPERFOREST and the world a better place... (Give your mom a shout-out for bringin' ya here!)

Peace and love.

--christine

vinyl DANCE CRAZE

Did you know that vinyl record sales are UP? I'm not into the music scene as much as I used to be, but I certainly smile whenever I hear about how vinyl is not going away.

From a small amount of research it seems that young folk like the format and use it for mixing and sampling... and of course, there's the nostalgics like me who are pleased to see that Urban Outfitters is now selling a nice and very cute Crosley record player in their shops. And, in the New York real estate craziness of my neighborhood of Greenwich Village, where cafes are closing down and corporate retail spots taking their place, we still have five record stores all within blocks of each other still selling wax!

There's something very thoughtful about putting the needle on the record, listening to that hiss, and then kicking back and taking it all in. Staring at the oversized album art and being mindful of flipping to side B. So meaningful to listening to music this way... at least for me.

Hope you like today's Dance Party Friday selection.

Happy weekend...peace and love,

-- christine

Dream dream dream...

It's so hard to believe that February is almost over! And, can you imagine that in just two week's time we'll be changing the clocks for Daylight Saving? I feel like I haven't gotten anything done, but when I look back at my calendar and see that everyday is filled with appointments, things have been crossed of my lists, I've actually done a lot!

Then I reminisce about recent events... New Year's, my birthday, The Inauguration, New York Comic Con, Chinese New Year's, Valentine's Day, President's Day... and life's everyday wonder and realize that I have been accomplishing so much, especially in ideas and dreaming. Cataloging and sorting my thoughts, laying out words, drawings and art.

I just had the great fortune of receiving two wonderful sketchbooks as gifts from two remarkable people, within two days of each other. It wasn't planned and neither knew of it; but, one sketchbook is a Moleskine and the other is a Moleskine-inspired from Club Monaco. And they are the same exact size! The red one I am using as a small personal comics-journal and the black one I am using for everyday on-the-go note-drawing.

Anyway, I love them and keep them both close by, at all times, constantly scribbling. Thank you, Catherine. Thank you, Jackson.

Love and peace,

-christine

PS! You guys, I missed a bunch of comments due to 'comment moderation' and I am so sorry! I've disabled it and will go though and respond as soon as I can... xoxo.

So In Love!

Last weekend, I was out shopping for groceries, innocently squeezing organic mangoes, when O.M.D.'s 'So In Love' comes on the store's sound system. I'm pretty sure I have not heard that song in over twenty years!

It was such a surprise to the usual 80's marketing mix... you know, the one to target my generation into a state of sweet maudlin-inspired blissful shopping? Which I would like to say does not impress nor control my spending! But, I'm wondering if you can tell me if this particular slate of tunes is specific to New York City, or is it like this everywhere?

Following are three instances where I'd been thoughtful about the music I was hearing while shopping...


SONG: OMD / 'So In Love'
STORE: Trader Joe's
THOUGHTS: This place is really crowded, but everyone's so gracious about it. I don't think I've ever experienced so many 'excuse me' and 'pardons'. Is it the music? How civilized! Do not forget to buy chocolate and orange juice.


SONG: The Smiths / 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'
STORE: Union Square Barnes & Noble Cafe
THOUGHTS: Oh shit, they're playing 'Hatful of Hollow'! I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, but heaven knows I'm miserable now... I need a drink. Then, book-shopping.


SONG: New Order / 'Ceremony'
STORE: Brooklyn IKEA
THOUGHTS: I want to buy more picture frames. Swedish meatballs. And all these mattresses.

WISDOM

Each one of us can be an oasis of peace. —Desmond Tutu

Inspired by the idea that wisdom is the greatest gift one generation can give to another, award-winning photographer and filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman interviewed, photographed and filmed 50 of the world’s great writers, actors, artists, designers, politicians, musicians and religious and business leaders of our time. He posed seven questions to each of his subjects—all over 65 years of age—and their candid responses offer uniquely inspirational and often surprising insights.

This project is one of the most beautiful and wonderful things... it's moved me utterly, to the point I now think about these compelling people, fascinating portraits, and amazing pearls of wise words ever constantly.

The website for the project is fantastic too, you can view all the portraits, read more about the project and view lots of little video clips delving into Andrew Zuckerman's making and creating of this incredible thing. I absolutely loved the 'Making Of', 'Exhibition', and 'News'....

WISDOM

Peace and Love,

--christine

Valentine's Day

It is the day of love, the day of amor! Whether you are in or out of love, an in-between cat, or whatever... today is the day to celebrate romance and the belief of love and the magic. If the music is groovy it can free your soul!

I've been listening to The Lovin' Spoonful for about four days straight and I can't get enough. However, given that it's Valentine's Day, I feel as though I should listen to something a little deeper... so I've spent all morning listening to Johnny Cash and June Carter duets. I don't think there's a more beautiful song than 'If I Were a Carpenter'... I weep!

What are you listening to on this day of hearts and flowers?

Groovie Ghoulies

Happy Friday the 13th! On this day of bad luck, jinxes, and curses, I give you the Groovie Ghoulies...

A fun little California band that is sadly no longer together, but who gave us many fun records and shows. In the above clip, they perform 'Devil Town', 'She Gets All The Girls', and a fantastic cover of Billy Bragg's amazing song 'A New England'.

And for all you lovers who are celebrating Valentine's Day early, 'The Tunnel of Love'!



Happy Weekend! Don't cross any black cats and certainly don't scratch on that eightball...

Peace and Love,

--christine

selling art

In an effort to clear out the studio, spring clean, and make space (and a little scratch!), I'm going to start clearing out my original art.

I've put up my BETTIE PAGE on eBay as an experiment to see what's worth selling before I go all out and open/create a web store. So keep checking back to view what all's I'm putting out on the market. And, if you're interested in this piece, you've only got seven days to nab it!

Bettie Page :: original art :: eBay listing

SAVE A SEED

Today I bring to your attention The Millenium Seed Bank and the effort of SUPERFOREST to raise funds to preserve one SINGLE seed species.

The cost is $3,000 and we have all ready raised a third of it. The only thing I am asking of you is to either donate a wee tiny bit of your precious money -OR!- your valuable time and internets and join the Save A Seed Coalition.

Meaning, would you mind ever so much blogging about this effort? Simply:

1. write a post on your own blog about The Millenium Seed Bank (you can copy my words if you like!)

2. please include SuperForest's MSB Save a Seed url ( http://teamsuperforest.org/superforest/?tag=millennium-seed-bank )

3. email SuperForest the link to your post (superforestnyc(at)gmail(dot)com. ), or add it in my 'comments'!

Happy weekend!

Peace and Love,

--Christine

“The Millennium Seed Bank Project is an international conservation project coordinated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Launched in the year 2000… its purpose is to provide an “insurance policy” against the extinction of plants in the wild by storing seeds for future use. The storage facilities consist of large underground frozen vaults preserving the world’s largest collection of seeds.

In April 2007 it banked its billionth seed, the Oxytenanthera abyssinica, a type of African bamboo.”

“But the cooling of the global economy is threatening to freeze the whole project. All it takes is 2,000 pounds to save one seed, and with at least four species of plants vanishing every year, conservationists believe this is an excellent value.”

love love love