Sharon Tingley posted a bunch of totally radical photos of hers from the 70’s. Check ‘em.

(via mystic-lady)

My neighborhood hosted it’s 3rd annual arts festival this weekend. I’ve been saying this is my favorite day of the year in Fishtown, a day when I’m extra proud to live here and be part of such a vibrant and wild-spirited community. What promised to be a rainy affair turned out to break free of the showers and even give me a sunburn. It was lovely, as always.

A big part of the festival, for those of you who don’t know yet, is the ‘Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby’. I took lots of photos of the derby and here’s a video of some of the best sculptures in action:

My pal Kasia just posted about this Criterion release of the classic experimental William Greaves film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm.

In his one-of-a-kind fiction/documentary hybrid Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One, director William Greaves presides over a beleaguered film crew in New York’s Central Park, leaving them to try to figure out what kind of movie they’re making. A couple enacts a break-up scenario over and over, a documentary crew films a crew filming the crew, locals wander casually into the frame: the project defies easy description. Yet this wildly innovative sixties counterculture landmark remains one of the most tightly focused and insightful movies ever made about making movies. Criterion presents this long-unreleased gem in a special two-disc edition, along with its sequel, Take 2 1/2, made thirty-five years later with executive producers Steven Soderbergh and Steve Buscemi.

I haven’t seen this yet, but I certainly want to soon! How gorgeous is that cover art, huh?

I got to thinking about it today because my pal Hudson reblogged a link to this NY Times article about a similar (albeit more modern) subject.

Cool fanboy aside: I was given my copy of this film by Bill’s brother and frequent Richard Linklater collaborator Lee Daniel when we met at Sundance ‘07.

Who is Bozo Texino? chronicles the search for the source of a ubiquitous and mythic rail graffiti– a simple sketch of a character with an infinity-shaped hat and the scrawled moniker, “Bozo Texino”– a drawing seen on railcars for over 80 years. Daniel’s gritty black and white film uncovers a secret society and it’s underground universe of hobo and railworker graffiti, and includes interviews with legendary boxcar artists, Coaltrain, Herby, Colossus of Roads, and The Rambler. Shooting over a 16-year period, Daniel rode freights across the West carrying a Super-8 sound camera and a 16mm Bolex. During his quest he discovered the roots of a folkloric tradition that has gone mostly unnoticed for a century. Taking inspiration from Beat artists Robert Frank and Jack Kerouac, the film functions as both a sub-cultural documentary and a stylized fable on wanderlust and outsider identity.

My friend Tim and I were talking the other day about artists we knew of who struggled and overcame major mental challenges to create fresh and amazing creations. I brought up Daniel Johnston. He brought up Wesley Willis. I had never heard of him, but I’m so glad I know his work now. Wow!

Polaroid is no longer making film stock for their instant cameras. This is sad. However, I just discovered a fun lil’ free app they put up for download from their UK page. Converts any .jpg into a pretty awesome simulation of the real thing, scanned in. It makes the cool sound of the camera, and even makes you wait for the photo to ‘develop’. Get it now.

Here’s one I made:

I can hardly express how overjoyed I am today. How relieved. How hopeful. To finally shrug off the nightmare of the last eight years. To finally let go of the anger. It brought me to tears last night. Heavy, primal tears. I finally believe in America again. Thank God. I finally have my hope restored. This is something I will talk about for the rest of my life. My grandkids will hear about it in fine detail.

Boy, we have a lot of work to do, though. That much is clear. Let’s get up and do it!

Today, please enjoy this illustration by the talented Patrick Moberg.

My good friend and mega-talented painter Mike Yoder just hung a solo show of new paintings on at Lycoming College Art Gallery. He does stunning work, with vivid, in-your-face color that slams you with a dichotomy of the beauty and the horror of fiery images of war.

On Facebook, you can see a photo gallery of the show here.

If you’ve ever been to my house, you’ll know that we have one of Mike’s paintings (a slightly older work done during an artist residency in Marfa, Texas) hanging proudly in our living room:

I just picked up a couple of these shirts from MoveOn.org who are giving them away if you donate towards their campaign to sign up 500,000 young voters in swing states. While you’re there, be sure to check out their pretty righteous “Manifest Hope” art gallery.

As an aside, I think it will be very cool/creepy if all my friends bought one and we wear the shirt around town on coordinated days. Um, no.

As an additional aside, even though I keep posting about it, I do still hate politics. I just can’t seem to give them up during a presidential campaign season. *sigh*

Oh, and in case you hadn’t heard before: Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilot was a governor.

First: via Geekadelphia, via Man in Blue:

Next, via Liza, via xkcd:

I (Audrey) recently took a trip down to Hot Springs, Arkansas to begin researching a documentary film I am making. I met my mother (whom the film is partially about) down there and we spent 5 days digging up the past, eating fried catfish and barbecue, bathing in hot springs and soaking up the vibe of this little town, and I have to say- I am in love with the history and old Americana feel of Hot Springs. Here are a couple of photos from the trip, the rest are on Mark’s Flickr page. I will be posting more about this project in the months (and years?) to come, I may even create a separate blog for the film, but I will keep everyone POSTED. Ha ha. Pun intended.

The time it took. The energy. The planning. The foresight. The danger. The vision. This is shear and utter genius (plus some good old fashioned hard work).

Blu, whoever you are, I salute you. Applause all around. You will go far.