Growing Power Food Conference

I first came across Will Allen and Growing Power in a 2009 article about urban farming in the NYTimes Sunday Magazine. A former basketball player and marketing guy for P&G, Allen found his passion in urban agriculture early on and his organization, Growing Power, has been a leader in the urban farming movement. Not only have they been able to cultivate sustainable growing practices on the farm, but have been able to successfully integrate the surrounding community into the larger movement of local food. Local schools in Milwaukee buy produce from Growing Power and theyve been able to roll out their business model to other locations including school and community farms in Detroit, Chicago, and other urban centers across the country.

Growing Power will be hosting their first ever Urban Agriculture conference this September 10th-12th in Milwaukee. Besides a keynote address from Allen himself, one of my heroes, Grace Lee Boggs, will also be speaking (via video conference) from her home in Detroit. Tracks for the conference range from aquaculture to social justice + food, and renewable energy. Anyone else down to join me for a weekend in the midwest?

RIP Abbey Lincoln

Jazz Vocalist, actress, revolutionary. You'll be missed Abbey Lincoln! Check the video of her and Max Roach below, from We Insist! Freedom Now.

Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach

Oil + Water: Fashion or Fail?

American fashion photographer, Steven Meisel turns his lens towards the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico with his most recent spread for Italian Vogue. The fashion editorial features models dipped in black crude and sprawled across rocky coastline dressed in plummage and leather. There's been a lot of debate on whether the spread is in bad taste or not but we applaud his courage in fanning the outrage and keeping the debate in headlines about offshore drilling and America's addiction to oil. A great reminder that the whole world is watching the BP oil spill that is STILL spilling into the Gulf. -Thanks Rukhs!

A Journey Round My Skull

My new favorite blog, A Journey Round My Skull, collects illustration and graphic design inspiration in a variety of printed matter. Posting imagery from around the world, a recent post shows the work from Czech illustrator Bohumil Stepan for The Green Mare. I love the simple but playful collage. I could spend days checking out the amazing collection of matchbox art, illustrated books, and packaging.

A couple of other awesome collections:
Besuboru Bromides: vintage B+W japanese baseball cards
Paul Landacre: intricate and lush nature-inspired woodblock prints
Tiger Mountain: Chinese Opera Masks on Cigarette cards

NYC Premiere: Downtown Calling

FINALLY!! This Wednesday my good friend Ben Velez's film, Downtown Calling, is making its NYC hometown debut. Chronicling the underground art, music and culture scene of New York during the late 70's and narrated by Deborah Harry, this film is an important document of the people and creative energy that birthed an undeniable NYC youth culture. The icons of Punk, Hip Hop, DJ and Downtown culture continue to influence the way we see and think about the world around us today! Buy tickets here and support the film at the NY International Latino Film Festival!

Report from TAIPEI: BOYZ & GIRL

Boyz & Girl are an indie rock fourtet made of twenty-something teachers Jon Du, Guo Guo, Sonoko, and Ban Ban (who fronts the band with a captivating bowl haircut and cartoon demeanor). Their self-titled LP's haphazard production method (in a makeshift studio in Banqiao, assisted by a New York pal) matches its "stream-of-consciousness" mentality. Released locally by White Wabbit Records (who also distributes Broken Social Scene and Beach House), BOYZ & GIRL is noisy, unhurried and nostalgic.

Most songs were recorded live, and some make you feel like you’re in a Wong Kar-Wai movie. Others have that Sonic Youth swagger. Boyz & Girl recently toured China for the first time. Taiwanese artists tend not to suffer the stigma of their mainland counterparts —we aren’t compelled to search for political meaning in their creative expression. In fact, the spectrum of Taiwanese rock n roll runs from indie rockers to pop stars like A-Mei and this guy. Boyz & Girl’s homecoming album release party will be at Underworld on July 31st. Thank you Jon Du!

Report from TAIPEI: MARK LEE PING-BIN

Seasoned cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bin is finally gaining more recognition with a new book, Poet of Light and Shadow, and documentary, Let the Wind Carry Me. Linked often with director Hou Hsiao-Hsien (who calls him, affectionately, A-Bing) and overshadowed by fellow DP Christopher Doyle, Lee has steadily established himself as a technical master of "glamorous realism." He avoids HD whenever possible, and his shots are fluid and heart-breakingly gorgeous. See In the Mood for Love, Millennium Mambo, The Vertical Ray of the Sun (credited as Pin Bing Lee on imdb.com). The book reprints his fine art photography, poems and interviews.

On set, Hou likens his right-hand man to a soldier. Lee runs on self-deprivation: no bathroom breaks or family visits (his teenage son in Los Angeles struggles to understand his absenteeism). His mother, however, figures prominently in the documentary: in Taiwanese fashion, a true mama's boy! His favorite movie is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

"I Heart" Black Spade

Black Spade is one of my favorite people and an immensely multi-talented artist/producer/emcee. Check out this beautiful B+W video he created for his mixtape with Union LA, Build and Destroy. Its an amazing tribute to motown era style and sound. Download the mixtape here!

Rest in Power RAMMΣLLZΣΣ

Its with great sadness that we say goodbye to one of the most influential philosophers, visual artists and MCs of his generation, Rammellzee. He was a prolific artist who's visual style influenced graffiti writers around the world and his flow influenced everyone from the Beastie Boys to Cypress Hill. His collaged sculptures and large scale paintings always reminded me of how infinite the universe is and the power of combining the mundane into something profound and beautiful.

Lauryn Hill on NPR

Rare interview with Lauryn Hill on NPR. The text has the whole jam and the audio is a short snippet, more about her influence and lasting enigma rather than her actual interview. Check it out here.

Rest in Power MJ

On the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, lets revisit DJ Jazzy Jeff's amazing tribute compilation, "He's the King, Im the DJ"! Collaborating with UNDRCRWN, the artwork features a great portrait of the King of Pop and Jazzy Jeff. Download it here.

Black Coffee - South African Design

Jacques van der Watt and Daniça Lep, the duo behind South African fashion label Black Coffee, are creating some of the most interesting and forward-thinking silhouettes. Using a mix of jersey and wool-blends for their Winter 2010 collection, the label put together an amazing installation/pop-up store at Arts on Main, a Johannesburg cultural compound located in the heart of the city. Avant-goth librarian describes the unique draping and playful use of print and layering. Check out some pics of the installation below, plus a video for their elegant concept dress which can be worn countless ways.

Florent: Queen of the Meat Market at NYFFF

This week marks the opening of the 4th annual New York Food Film Festival. On Thursday, for one night only, join Florent Morellet to taste a selection of original menu items from Restaurant Florent and watch the World Premiere of David Sigal's "FLORENT: Queen of the Meat Market", a heartwarming film about the man behind the legendary restaurant. In June of 2008 cherished New York restaurant Florent closed its doors forever, marking the end of an era. Florent Morellet, the openly HIV-positive restaurateur turned his namesake diner in the Meatpacking District into a hotbed of activism and a community that welcomed one and all. These are the extraordinary stories and times of Florent, the staff, patrons, and celebrities who made up an extensive family. With appearances by Julianne Moore, Isaac Mizrahi, and Christo and Jean-Claude. This feature-length documentary chronicles the ups and downs of the French bistro's 23 glorious years. All proceeds for this special night go to the Food Bank of New York City! Get Tickets Here!

Bedknobs & Broomsticks

In the spirit of the classic Little Golden Books for children, Little Brown Mushroom Books is releasing a series of photographic storybooks for grown-ups. LBM is the self-published books from photographer Alex Soth and friends. Their first grown-up storybook, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, features photographs and story by Australian photographer Trent Parke and design by Hans Seeger. With his fierce photographic style, Parke takes readers along a magic bed of free association from Down Under. Priced at $18 and limited to a numbered edition of 1000. Treguna, Makoidees, Trecorum, Sadis Dee! Click here for more info or to buy the book!

24-Hour Party People @ The Whitney

My excuse for not doing as much museuming as i'd like is usually some line about the crowds on the weekends and my inability to check out those grand institutions on the week days. No more blah-blah-blahing from me! For the closing days of the Whitney Biennial (which I still havent seen) they'll be open around the clock, 24 hours a day. Starting Wednesday at 12am, artist Michael Asher's proposal for the Whitney goes live and the museum will be open continuously until Friday, May 28th. Who wouldnt want to run around a museum at 2am?! Check out more details here.

GRAFFITI ROCK

So this is a little epic flashback from the past - Kool Moe Dee, Run DMC, Special K, New York City Breakers with some serious moves from Vince Gallo as Vince the Prince and Debi Mazar. It aired on WPIX as a hip hop response to Soul Train and American Bandstand but sadly, it only lived for 1 episode. Since that first and last episode, the world has been deprived of what would have been an important piece of pop culture history.

Quadron, Buster Keaton Video

I am totally obsessed with Quadron and after seeing them at the TasteNYC Loft party last week, I cant seem to get enough. They're part of the awesome Boom Clap Bachelors collective, spinning out fresh soulful grooves out of Denmark. Check out their new video for "Buster Keaton," track one from their debut self-titled album. Its full of awesome hand lettering and spring pop colors.

Small Is Beautiful

I have a special place in my heart for all things diorama. The magic of transforming garage-sale throwaways --shoe boxes, fishtanks, cardboard-- into a spectacular miniature world is always exciting and wondrous. I cant wait to see the amazing works unveiled at tomorrow's show!

*************
Small Is Beautiful

An exhibition of dioramas curated by Theme magazine and Scion, featuring work by

Jeremy Mora
Lori Nix
Tracey Snelling
Dan Funderburgh
Ji Lee

& wall vignettes by
Josh Cochran

Wednesday, May 12
6 – 9PM
Murphy and Dine Gallery
520 West 27th Street, Ground Floor (10th/11th)

RSVP to receive the premiere volume of Theme's "Pocket" Book series featuring Wooster Collective's ephemera collection. Theme Pocket Books are produced in limited runs and are all individually numbered.

Music by DJ Monchan

Beer by PBR and Whiskey by Old Grand Dad
Wine and Snacks Served

Vertical Gardening, NYC Style

Really amazing writeup about vertical gardens in NYC! This would be an amazing spring project -- a living work of art!

GIVEN the chance to accompany a team of botanists on a plant-collecting expedition to South America, most gardeners would probably be satisfied with the experience. They wouldn’t come home and try to recreate the rain forest in Manhattan.

But Michael Riley isn’t like most gardeners. Mr. Riley, a former commodities trader turned plant expert who went on to become assistant director of the Horticultural Society of New York, was eager to move beyond potted plants in a way that hadn’t yet occurred to many others. It took a number of expeditions, a lot of research and more than a decade and a half, but by 2003 he had figured out how to grow a wall of plants inside his Upper West Side apartment.

“In the rain forest, I realized that plants didn’t need to grow in pots with labels,” said Mr. Riley, 64. “I wanted to grow plants in ways that were natural to them.”

With his partner, Francisco Correa, a Spanish teacher who is now 52, Mr. Riley attacked a corner of his living area, stripping the walls of plaster and affixing exterior-grade plywood to new and existing building studs. On top of the plywood went bitumen roofing to protect the walls. Cork bark was then stapled over that, and plants were inserted into pockets in the cork. Sprinklers and lighting were installed overhead, trenches were put in at the base of the walls to catch water that trickled down, and pools were added in the middle of the room to increase humidity. Read the full article here!

Grotesk Book Launch

MIA "Born Free"

Check the new short film by MIA and Romain-Gavras of Justice fame. Gave me chills. Getit girl!!!

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

DJ Premier Keith "Guru" Elam Tribute Mix

Rest in Power GURU. Your work is a living legacy and testament to your life. Miss Info also uploaded Mister Cee's tribute he did on Hot97. You can download it here.

Keith "Guru" Elam Tribute Mix by DJ Premier Blog Radio on Mixcloud

This Weekend: Hester Street Fair

Yay! Its finally here! Suchin Pak's Hester Street Fair is finally touching down this weekend in the LES/Chinatown. An Choi, Frank's Chop Shop, Sigmund Pretzels and more will be dishing out snacks while the folks behind Gargyle, Devotte and my besties will be slingin' vintage finds. Come by and support the ladies of ADA&IVY!!!

Trains, Planes and Bicycle-mobiles...

Check out NONSTOP Suzette Lee's stellar debut! Its an ode to being on-the-go in the city that never sleeps.

NONSTOP from SML on Vimeo.

King of Spring

King of Spring 2010 from Kellen Dengler on Vimeo.

Check out the homie kellen's recap of yesterday's King of Spring competition for Mighty Healthy!!

Iraq is Flying

Beautiful shots from Iraqi photographer Jamal Penjweny. Check the full set of images here. Thanks Randa!
Iraq is Flying
Jamal Penjweny/ Iraq 2006, 2009
Jumping was my dream when I was a child. I wanted to fly through a highest jump to watch my house and the road from the sky and to see the entire city where I was born. It never happened! I had no chance to have a flight by airplane even once in my childhood. Now! I can see my city and even all Iraq from the tiny window of the airplane, but everything looks different.

Mr. Softee In China

Im not a huge fan of Mr. Softee but it is one of those things that seems quintessentially New York. The NYTimes reports that they're expanding their powdery cold empire into China, land of the lactose intolerant. Read the whole article here.

For more than half a century, Mr. Softee has been as synonymous with New York summers as open fire hydrants, its blue and white trucks and instantly recognizable jingle luring children throughout the city, from Washington Heights to Coney Island.

New York being a tough town, Mr. Softee has also endured its share of bumps and bruises. It has fought about noise with the city, which no longer allows Mr. Softee trucks to play their jingle while parked.

The company hired private detectives to spy on Mr. Softee impersonators, and Mr. Softee drivers have gotten into verbal and even hand-to-hand battle with rival ice cream vendors.

Along the way, this quintessential New York institution has pursued an unlikely road to globalization...

"It happened almost by accident. An American working as an English teacher was walking around the streets of the city where he taught and noticed a deluge of American fast food franchises, but found nothing resembling the kind of soft-serve ice cream that his college roommate’s family had turned into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

And that’s how Mr. Softee went to China.

Now this staple of New York City life is being served 7,000 miles away, on the streets of Suzhou, an ancient city of more than six million people about 50 miles west of Shanghai. Mr. Softee or Mr. Soft Heart, the English translation of “ruan xin xian sheng” — there is no Mandarin word for Softee — has been a hit, with sales doubling every year since the first truck started rolling three years ago...

"Customers like Meng Xiangbo, 19, a college student, have proved Mr. Conway right. He is a regular customer of the Mr. Softee truck that peddles its treats in Suzhou’s university district.

One recent balmy afternoon, Mr. Meng ordered a kiwi sundae.

“They have six flavors,” he said of the sundaes. “I eat a different one every day. On Sunday, I rest.”

DJ Eleven x Devin the Dude

DJ Eleven x Devin the Dude. Cant get much better than this. Cop Devin's new album dropping next week, "Suite 420." Download here for your listening pleasure!!

The Dude
It's A Shame feat. Pooh Bear
Ain't That A B-tch feat. UGK
F-ck Faces feat. Scarface & Too $hort
I Don't Chase Em feat. Snoop Dogg
Thinkin' Boutchu
I Can't Make It Home
Where Can We Go
Fa Sho (P-ssy) feat. The Odd Squad
Your P-ssy's Like Dope feat. The Odd Squad
Just A Man feat. Raphael Saadiq
Baby Phat feat. De La Soul
Dime A Dozen feat. CoughEE Brothaz
She Useta Be
What A Job feat. Andre 3000
F-ck You feat. Snoop Dogg
R & B (Reefer & Beer)
Whatever
Too Cute feat. Erica Morton
The Mule feat. Z-Ro
Southside: Houston Texas feat. Scarface
Back Up Plan feat. Chamillionaire
4 O'Clock In Da Morning feat. Mddl Fngz & Bun B
Lacville '79
Doobie Ashtray
Sticky Green feat. Scarface
Do Whatcha Wanna Do
Anythang

7000 Words

One of my favorite photographers of all time, Sue Kwon, is featuring her work on 7000WORDS.com, a website devoted to showcasing an image a day from a stellar cast of contemporary visual artists including Peter Dean Rickards, Brent Rollins, Alessandro Zuek Simonetti, Shaniqwa Jarvis, and David Perez Shadi. Love today's photograph shown above!!

Erykah Badu:: Return of the Ankh

Erykah Badu is one of my favorite artists, an inspiration in her life and music. Listening to her newest album, New Amerykah: Return of the Ankh, it really reminds me of her early work. The roots of the album draw from Baduizm and the pacing and vibe really make me nostalgic for the late '90s. Check the video for Window Seat, her first single off Return of the Ankh below. Like most politically minded work it's been labeled "controversial" in the press.