Presentors

Both presenters were great yesterday but Jason and Oliver's was clearly something more than just a presentation of information.

Alex Grey's information was not presented in an analytic fashion but rather using the artist own words and in tensions to show who he really was. This is not to say they did not have a solid grasp of what Grey stands for and the meaning behind his work but sometimes, rather than complicating things with in depth analysis, it is more beneficial to introduce the viewers to the concepts straight from the originators mind.

When the art is so spiritually based, it is bound to invoke different emotions in everyone and I think it was nice how they asked our opinion on some of the pieces.

Beyond the information, the props and gifts were a great way to connect the audience on a personal level to the presentation. Having us gather in a circle while they played the prayer bowls allowed myself personally to reconnect spiritually in a way I have not attempted in some time.

I predicted something special from them and they still exceeded my expectations.

Idiocracy

Well I'm an idiot.

Decided to write the representative of Char Davies before doing any reading on the artist. Rather than checking to see if Char was a female or male name I assumed it was masculine and wrote under these pretenses. The worst part was I was asking for a favor and for some reason, kindness I'm guessing, the girl wrote back and informed me of my mistake. What was surprising and very uplifting was that she still might agree to share the information I had requested. When you write an email address that is listed on a public domain as a general inbox you usually don't expect a response back but to my surprise I had the email three days later.

But things really do come in bunches, whether its karma or just coincidence shit just seems to keep happening when one thing goes wrong. The other un-smooth move was backing a girls brand new land rover up to far and scraping it against the house. The girl had just got this very expensive gift three days earlier and like a fucking moron I was only looking out of one mirror not realizing the house jetties out on the passenger side. Thankfully the damage was not to severe and I may be able to buff most of it out but the fact I was so careless really eats at me.

I suppose all things happen for a reason and when you are forced to give your head the proverbial shake, the mishaps may lead to positive repercussions.

Trip to Prague

I've been doing some research and I was not surprised to find that Prague has some beautiful art and history to be seen. Apparently the Jewish quarter is full of beautiful architecture and history and it will be cool because I was in Israel last summer traveling so I'm interested to see how it compares to Jerusalem (although nothing can come close to the so called "holiest place on earth").

The national gallery has a great selection of European art from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The collection includes works by artists such as Holbein, Dürer, Bruegel, Rubens, van Dyck, El Greco, Goya, Gaugin, van Gogh, Picasso and Braque.

I'm interested in seeing some of the local works and apparently theres some museums that display a lot of beautiful Bohemian glass and ceramics.

I'll be sure to take pictures and post on my return

The free mind

The conversation we had in last class about how patients who suffer from sever mental trauma are being treated with acid as a way to open their mind and confront their demons got me thinking about why these drugs are illegal and frowned upon.

Back home in Canada acid is looked upon virtually the same as it is here in the US but marijuana is a drug that has a much larger backing to legalize. I believe if it were not for the close ties and power the US government has we would have legalized the sale of it years ago. There are places in the US where it is becoming de-criminalized and more accepted but I feel it is no different than prohabition back in the 20's. People should be able to purchase the substance in the same fashion as alchohol, with a controlled age limit and a tax that would bring in revenue for the government rather than taking millions away trying to prevent it.

The real spark that got me thinking about acid and its ability to free the mind from the every day conscious was a substance I heard about that your body produces naturally and is said to be the most powerfull hallucnogen in the world. Its called Dimethyltryptamine or DMT for short and it is said to bridge the gap between the conscious and subconscious. I'm just going to post some links and let those who know describe it best but the idea of something that is said to bring you as close to death (in a good way) as humanly possible must allow you to reach beyond the normal layers of thought into places your mind has never gone.

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/Pickover/pc/dmt.html

http://deoxy.org/smokedmt.htm

Blah

Not much to update other than I'm starting to feel better after being sick. Took a trip up to Maine this weekend which was great for the mind and soul. I realize how much I miss home when I get a chance to be out in nature where your thoughts are not muddled by the city noise.

Its been a long time between trips back home to Vancouver. I have not thought much of it and I suppose that is a testiment to Boston and my contentment with life here. I do miss the beauty of Vancouver, exspecially in the summer when the outdoors become a playground for campers and nature enthusiasts. I'm lucky to have good friends who live all over the Northeast though. I can take weekend trips with them out of the city so I don't go crazy in the concrete jungle.

The robot has evolved

http://break.com/index/i-think-he-can-dance.html

Seems like David Elsewhere and the other guy (who's name I can't remember) have inspired a totally new genre of dance. Thats not really fair to say as we don't know who inspired the way they dance but the pop and lock style is going into a new dimension that we have only just recently seen.

Its interesting that we are searching for where art and technology meet and divide in this course and these dancers have blended the two into something beautiful.

First blog (ever)

What is up people. I guess I'll treat this like an online journal with out the juicy details. First week of class in the final semester, the begining of the end!!!!