Before the Law - Franz Kafka

I had a quite a few minutes of free time at work today and among the many things I found to occupy my time, reading Kafka was one of them.  There is a very interesting parable called "Before the Law".  This is a very abstract story with minimal amounts of exposition... it is a very short tale.  If you care to read it... here

If you are interested further I have provided a link for a slideshow animated interpretation.

This one looks hand drawn and quite a bit older than some of us... here

Here is to yah.

The late night, what is so sublime?

To catch you up, I have been studying for my plant pathology exam on Wednesday all night. I have finally hit my stopping point at around 3 AM because I had retched stomach pains. These happened hours after the coffee and the decision to stay up later and continue studying. As you may or may not know, my bedroom window faces West Park Pl. I can't help but wonder every time I hear a car drive by or on less frequent occasion, voices, coming from the street. Are they real? Or are they implied by your sleep deprived induced delirium? One can't help to chuckle about the possibility of the street itself, speaking through various human vectors. Something that I have noticed about finals week is, I have become addicted to not sleeping, perhaps in the equivalent nature of a drug. Once those dragging hours hit you and you strive to focus on the screen and motor your way through transcribing notes onto it. The sense of thrill of stepping out of the bounds of rationalistic thinking. Yes, staying awake during the night and sleeping a portion of the day in order to do so, does not seem to benefit...to the rational thinker. Here is what an less rational thinker would say, "Well, sleeping can really be scheduled at any time, there does not need to be some 'only at night' assumption. Sure it can be difficult to do specific things at time but don't forget, you can plan out when you will be conscious during the light hours for things like class, friends, food, etc. Then you sleep after that is all done and the night is all yours. You will find others out there in the shroud of the darkness. It makes my mind feel isolated, unlike thoughts of the daytime. My thoughts seems more tangible than in times of daylight. You do realize that I am writing this blog entry in that state of mind so mind you any technical errors. In a sense loosing some steam here..."

Verdict: Electronic Cigarette = $90 down the hole, well...

Here is a new little product that may in fact "tickle your quicket". I ran into Curran tonight at Brenny's place and learned of this new fandangled "as advertised in a pavilion at the mall" kind of thing. So basically this 'electronic cigarette' is a liquid-nicotine-vaporizer. There is a small heating element that in activated when you inhale and this lets say small particles of vaporized liquid nicotine get pulled into your lungs. That is it...pros, you can "smoke" indoors and over the long run it is said that you can really save money on smokes (if the thing keeps working)...cons, Curran mentioned after a few deep drags, your throat starts to burn (I tried it and this is true) and it costs about $90 off the bat. So, if you are interested in keeping a buzz in doors then cheers to you, this new device could really help you out.

Customer Comments: Curran Raimer
"you can only hit it so many times before it will shut itself of as it is advertised to be nicotine poisoning proof..."
"is good to have if you don't want to go outside for a whole cigarette.."

Wait...? Mario Party 2...? dude.

At my house there tends to be a trend in which mario party game we play. Just tonight James, Wyatt and I were all sitting down after dinner and decided we should play some n64. Sure enough mario party 3 came up because it is what we had recently been playing. We all agreed that mario party 3 was pretty bad and everyone had already played 1 so much and I thought mario party 2 was broken but Wyatt was able to get it working. Let me tell you, this game is by far better than 3 and a little bit sweeter than 1. It has some of the best music out of all of them, especially the minigame information lobby. Overall the game has a very solid in its overall nature, unlike the very quarky game play of mario party 3. It has the very pleasing simple gameboard game play, which is what is so great about mario party 1 but, 2 has newer, more interesting evrnts, items, and all sorts of other goodies. Bowser has a much more dynamic character in 2 as well and various other things. Some of the new minigames were a bit befuddling but, were entertaining none the less. You were able to get multiple rolls in this game which was very big step from 1. The maps are a little more dynamic so mapping your root for a star has a little more essence of chance than in 1 but, not as ridiculous as 3. Like it says on the box, "Get the place jumping."

Picture from the opening...

and the Legend of John Paul.

The opening last night went very well, despite the poor weather that resulted in the bus showing up an hour late and postponing the poetry reading to hmmm....lets say 8:45. So the writing and the music grads do there literature and music performance but before delve into that matter..I must tell you of the legend known as "John Paul". To my knowledge John Paul is a homeless man living somewhere around Norther Liberties. The thing that have come to know about him is he always makes his appearance at the probably every gallery in Crane LLC. He has the most peculiar facial hair, it has a certain asymmetric qualities that make it symmetric. Well I'll have to draw a picture or ask him if I could take one or I am sure he would gladly explain his facial hair and hair. John Paul was truly a delightful man to meet and the most remarkable quality is, his words. Well, I wish I could recount more of the words that he voluntarily and with great quality, spoke. In short, he thanked us here in Delaware to going through the trouble of bringing work up to Philly to share with the community and that our contributions made the art community as a whole, a much greater place. I spoke with him after the show and he told me that he was very eager to see what will happen within the local art scene. John Paul is a spoken word artist and makes often cameo apperances at art openings in the younger scene in the northeast. Either way it was excellent to finally meet him, I had been planning on introducing myself earlier that even but I didn't even have to. You can see him in the picture above and to the right. He is leaning against the pillar underneath the amp. Anyway more soon, here are some more photos from the opening.

CAN- Deadlock (live)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olIrNodUtyk&feature=related

For the savvy, 'La Tonal'

So I had a almost terrifying experience today at La Tonalteca. It was a typical weekday afternoon and I was having lunch at La Tonalteca. As you probably know, if you are reading this, that there are lunch specials for $4.99 weekdays from 11-3. Kurran and I went to La Tonalteca at 2:45 under the circumstance that Ned was going to meet us. Well, Ned ended up not being able to make so we must have walked in after 3:00 unknowingly, knowing that Kurran and I discussed this issue before we even entered the building. We sit down and have lunch as usual but something unfamiliar happened (at the time). The bill was over $20! Lets see, two lunch specials should be $9.98 with extra chips and salsa $0.95 and flan $3.50 would come out to $14.43. Not $21 something or other. At that moment I was about to swear on La Tonal for pulling a real dick move. Then I immediately realized that the special goes until 3, not 4. Either way keep La Tonal on the DL because it is truly an awesome place to eat for a really excellent price. In the end my ire was provoked by my own absent mindedness, sorry La Tonal.

Summer time.

These where a series of drawings done at my home in Lewes. I reluctantly picked up an old sketch book and a set of colored pencils. These are just four of the near 50 or more that exist.

Sunny, 9" x 12" colored pencil

Sam and Kevin, 9" x 12" colored pencil

Kitchen, 9" x 12" colored pencil

Table, 9" x 12" colored pencil

Little Man Pt. 3

If there is anything that I can still say about Little Man is, he is kind of an idiot. I say that for sentimental reasons of course. You see Little is a sponge and he has initiated his prophecy to absorb. Yet, he still has much to learn. He has his values in check, he just needs a game plan, yeah, similar to one from NFL Blitz for N64! Anyway, I feel this post is dragging on too long. All I have to say now is, if you want to hang out with Little this winter I plan on having him come visit Newark.

Corner Trash

(Sadly my scanner was only working well enough to bring to my desktop just two images, then a failure to be able to upload a second image just leaves me with one! more to come soon.)

Trash can seem somewhat invisible. Occupying vacant spaces often a visible part of landscape. There are a few things you can really do to trash when a typical person encounters it. One option is to throw it away/recycle and the other option is to leave it as it was. Many suffer the conflict of taking action and the compromise physical disgust or discomfort. Others simply don't think twice about it and yet there are those who embrace it. Trash that it. No matter how you choose to look at it, it is always going to be there. Day and night, rain or shine. As we progressed into a nation of consumers, we also stepped the amount of waste we produce, substantially. Therefor we have our 'green movements', new legislature, etc. Trash is very much dependent on its human vector, think of it as an obligate parasite. It has resistance to most forms of its eradication. Once the human vector breaks the seal of a material good, trash is inoculated onto earth. Natural materials will eventually biodegrade into the earth because organic compounds breakdown into nutrients in the soil. The inorganic materials that we produce have no hope of doing so, at least not for quite some time. Therefore as long as we produce or consume, trash and waste is born.

Trash Collage #2, 11" x 14"

A juxtaposition of space

This was a group space project I did my freshman year. Made me laugh to see it again. Nothing says 'foundations' like a swimming pool in a basement.

Jutting edge, Color Pencil 8.5" x 10"

Little Man early years pt. 2

As depicted here we see Little Man and Tj hurling a cabinet that was once in the clubhouse off of the deck....down to a dumpster below. Not much else could really be said about this moment. Either way 'Little' was slowly picking up on the natural order of things at the rbsa. Soon he was partaking in our bad habits. You see at first, little man acted as our early warning system so the superiors would not catch us loafing on the job. Once little had his rather large attitude adjustment, we now had a niche that was left vacant. Though, there was not much conflict of interests on either side. The new problem now was, "Little is getting lazy as shit". That was a problem, myself, being the example of humanity to this lad was lack of integrity that I had bestowed to him. Alas in recent year my efforts have failed to be persuasive, this is the day I hoped for of course. Recent memories serve as a constant wealth of entertainment which is ubiquitous in all translations.

A case in presence.

There is much to be an observer while living in the Jungle in Newark. You tend to see people come, you tend to see people go. Frequently. There are some people that tend to leave more of a crater upon impact. Those tend to be the fast ones that come to the Jungle and they also tend to be the fast ones to go. An enigma that I have seen within the last six months has now departed. There are rumors of his return in weeks, or months, or simply who knows? He had a most peculiar sense of reality that I found quite simply enjoyable. The passive yet spastic insanity that was the delight or horror, of Mike's day would, or would not, besiege him with countless tasks and obligations yet to be fulfilled. On the other hand he lived a life of leisure in which all of us enjoyed the fruits of our labor shared willingly with one-another. As I will tell you, I learned of his departure today.

All he left was his mug, a favorite one according to Rain, a light up wall decoration, an office chair and other small miscellanea.

Farewell my friend until I see you again.

Just remember who you are when the late night beckons.



Ominous moon, Graphite 8.5" x 10"

Little Man, in his early years.

I believe the year was 2006 when this picture was taken of Little Man. Here is a very common scene of daily toils at the Rehoboth Bay Sailing Assn. As seen here, Little Man is handing Dave 5 gallon gas tanks in order to fill the gas tank of the Mako. Notice Little Man's long golden curls underneath a R.B.S.A. hat. A classic scene from the early years that I knew Little Man. Little was most likely 14 at the time of this picture, when he was most impressionable. When Little first arrived at the rbsa he was somewhat of a mystery. He was apparently working for free at the time, which really made no sense. Anyway Little was valued for his skills in rope mastery. He could bend lines, splice lines, among many other things that were very useful to the less 'technically' apt. Little man, at first he would be early for work every day, eager to take on pending challenges that jolt life into the souls of every socialist loving sailing association. As if they have souls. Anyway, the journey for Little Man would be tough. He had much to give yet so much more to learn. As I said before, he was very impressionable, still is...maybe? Well, 'little' is still little but in his mind he outgrows any notion of being Little. Because Little in fact acts more like a less little man than he actually is. Therefor he remains utterly perplexing.

Statues in front of the PMA, Philadelphia.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Little Man.

Ahh...the first post, may as well make it something to remember.
Well.. here we go.

If you know me it is very likely that I have mentioned someone who goes by the name of "Little Man". I would like to clarify some of the ambiguity that shrouds him. You see, I used to work with little man at very small, member owned, sailboat rental uh, 'club' you could say.
First of all, well all I can give you right now is a picture of Little Man to give you an idea of who I am going to be talking about.
Here he is, as usual, looking like an idiot.
Sadly this dismal image is also a reflection upon myself... yes, you see as many of you may know, 'Little' is my protege.
When most people see him they think that he is a short, twelve year old girl. Not the case, I believe that Little is sixteen and possibly going on seventeen sometime soon. I think.
Anyway, he is a smart kid, sometimes. Well, lets say he has a few weaknesses. Those would have to be discussed with me personally. There is more to Little Man than most people come to realize. As I mentioned before I worked with Little Man for a number of years and have gotten to know him pretty well. He even invited me to stay at his house in New Hampshire over the winter (he has a Roor) and do some mountain backpacking. Sounds fun. Off topic, Little Man needs some motivation. Something that he can believe in, me being his exemplar points the finger at me, no?