So That’s What Happened

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 14:21:13 -0500

Of course, like everyone else in the world, I’ve been wondering
what went on down in Florida the other night.
I mean, Tiger is a perfect man, right?
What could have happened to make him snap?
He’s got the perty wife, the billion dollars, the
Escalade parked in the driveway of his home in a gated
community (a little surprising how close together the houses
are there). This video, from a Taiwanese news program,
offers a great explanation. Thank God for animation.

Performance Art

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:46:53 -0400

As an American, I know nothing of Germany’s invasion of The Ukraine. Except that, thanks to this video, I know it upset the Ukranians, and occurred in 1946. I love everything about this video -- the dramatic performance, the incomprehensible costume, the beautiful images, the corny production and, most of all, the fact that it happened on a TV show called “Ukraine’s Got Talent.”

Public Art Projects

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:22:21 -0400

I am aware of today’s date. I dealt with that on Facebook (which didn’t exist when the towers fell). Here on Gowanus View I will deal with some outrageous YouTube graffiti videos. This guy just got four years in prison for compulsive tagging (video gives me the willies):

I never quite believe this one isn’t staged, but it’s fun to watch:

This one gets really hot about 1 minute in.....thrilling nostalgia. I’m 51, and I still have plans to start tagging the city (soon as my kids go off to college):

Punk Mariachi Goes Country

Wed, 2 Sep 2009 08:46:56 -0400

Been a long time since I’ve seen my blog. Nutty summer.
Let’s start fall with a lovely video from “Mariachi el Bronx.”

My Birth

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 07:14:23 -0400

I’ve been living a lie.
(Along with President Obama)
I’d like to come clean, to clear my conscience, and to set the record straight with the
American people.
I am a foreign born national.
Please forgive me. I will wait at my home for Homeland Security.

Walt

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 14:58:08 -0400

Note: those might be early Levi’s in the photo.

Do I say, “Sell out?” No, because he’s dead, and because I have a more complex (meaning I can’t make up my mind) reaction to this video. What do you think of using Walt Whitman to sell Levi’s? In one sense, it’s perverse. But in another sense, it’s beautiful -- how else will people become aware of him in the future? See for yourself, and please share your thoughts. (That’s the true voice of Whitman speaking here, too. Amazingly.)

Bye Bye Day

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 21:24:44 -0400

It’s all dead. The world I grew up in. Of course, the stuff I write has long been little more than a coat hanger for advertising. I accepted that death (of idealism) years ago. But the death of the whole concept? Got to let it go. Old media has passed on. Here’s a song to commemorate it. Thanks to my new media friend, Josh Warner.

No Worry (your premium is up to date?) Day

Fri, 29 May 2009 11:23:39 -0400

Life is good. We’ll all return to our roots (a time in America when the brilliant actor in the ad below wouldn’t have been able to get a job as a spokesperson). The hardships will make us better. Macaroni and Cheese will again be made with Velveeta, rather than expensive French fromage. We’ll all be happy -- as long as we make monthly payments to Allstate.

Smile Day

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:20:15 -0400

I believe this will make everyone happy.
Just click on link and then click on as many links as you’d like, to compose your own.
I think composers have made the best use of YouTube, by far. And this is the best of the best.

Well Done, Georgie

Mon, 18 May 2009 09:39:39 -0400

I try not to think too much about things gone wrong, but an article in today’s Times infuriated me (because I’d rather feel that than despair). “Secret” information (leaked to the front page of The Times) shows Pakistan developing significant amounts of new material for nuclear weapons. A problem, I think, given Pakistan’s location and instability. A problem that might better have been massaged about 7 years ago. When I think of the futility and destructiveness of our foray into Iraq, I feel sick. Why did we allow this to happen? Read that article, above, and give some thought as to what might happen next.

Land of the Free

Thu, 14 May 2009 10:59:15 -0400

God bless technology...the technocrats have finally give us a way to be free of...technology. How have we lived without this for so long?

Brand Dilution

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:59:34 -0400

Seriously, this thing blows those little chocolate covered espresso beans out of the water. Plus, it’s got electrolytes, so you don’t ever have to eat stuff like bananas and watermelon again. Each “container” contains 460 calories, so about five of them will ensure that an adult man has enough energy to live a good life. And don’t worry about the cost. All you have to do is upload photos of you buzzing the name of the bar into your fade and they’ll send you coupons for free bars.
On a more serious note, this makes me sad. Butterfinger is an iconic, perfect brand. Just like Oreo. But these corporate whatchamajiggers feel compelled to squeeze the bottom line, or top line whichever it is, for new variations on old products that they think will make them more doughlough (mint Oreos, for instance). It’s such a lame creative process to wind up at caffeinated Butterfingers. Why not just make a new product, instead?

Bamboo Bike

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:56:32 -0400

The bamboo frame is stronger than steel, or says Biomega, the company that makes it. Hard to believe. But when was the last time you rode a steel bike anyway? Surely, since Biomega is involved, the bike will be a good one, if expensive. But there’s no doubt that it is beautiful. One question: How would you lock this thing up? Wouldn’t it be simple for a thief to just saw it free from any chain? Or burn it free with a cigarette lighter?

Tropical Volcano Day

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:41:51 -0400

i’m in Quito right now. Tomorrow I’ll rent a car and drive to the volcanoe on the right in the photo (the white jagged circle). One of my favorite spots on earth. I will stand up high with my arms open wide and let the wind blow right through me. I won’t be staying in the hotel listed on the Google Map above, but I do recommend it (from having stayed there years ago).

Arrows Flying to...

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:01:23 -0400

This site seems awesomely cool -- except that I have no idea how it could be useful. Will someone please explain it to me?

Big White Birds Day

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:43:03 -0400

See those little dots up on the right side of the sparkling blue water? Those are the swans, back again for spring on the gorgeous Gowanus Canal. Looks like they are headed towards my friend Julia’s place. Haven’t seen these beauties since last spring. It’s cold out, but still this is the second or third day of spring, according to an elementary student I know (they study these things in science class). And the pair of swans are up near the bus depot, across from the rock crushing plant, and near the toxic waste dump that Whole Foods made the mistake of thinking they could use as the site for one of their brown-rice-sushi and grocery stands. They’re keeping their heads under water, so there must be some tasty mollusks or celery stalks or something that swans eat down there. (underwater cereal crops, according to wiki, along with green junk.) Of course, I’m worried that their beaks will dissolve in all the solvents in the canal, but what the hell. Guess they know what they are doing. Soon the fig tree will bloom, and we’ll get some fruit bats too. Anyway, here’s to a happy spring!

Kids “r” Smart

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:14:58 -0400

If I’d been as smart as this charismatic young man when I was a kid, I might not have ever gotten addicted to unfiltered Camels. If they’d had Youtube when I was a kid, I’d have made myself a star of how-to inhaling videos.

As It Goes

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:57:58 -0400

A.I.G.

All Income Gone
Amigos In Gold
Ain’t I Greedy
Another Ill Gotten
Anal Ingots of Gold
All Ill Guys
All Income Grows
And I Grovel
Another Income Gone
All Idiots Gain
Anthropomorphic Investment Gophers
Any Investment Good
All Involuntary Greed
Amway Is God
Another Ill Gain
Auxiliary Incomes Gone
Am I God
All is Good
Amounts Inconceivable, Goodgracious
Aren’t I Grand

Please add more in the comments section and I will post them here.

Conservative Tastes

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:28:22 -0500

I guess this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. I mean, I’ve lived in America for decades, and have witnessed countless hypocritical displays. But the results of a new study of online porn consumption still surprised me with its findings that people in the red states buy more online porn than people in the blue states. As reported in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, eight of the top ten porn consuming states voted for McCain in the last election. Six of the lowest consuming states went for Obama. Since this data was based on credit card purchases, it could be that the blue states folks have just figured out how to get the stuff for free, rather than paying for it. But it’s interesting that one of the states I consider to be most consumed with preaching morality is the number one consumer of pay for play online porn in America. Yes, red Utah goes for the blue stuff. The researchers also found that porn use declined in red states on Sunday morning. As much as I like to be an understanding fellow, I tired of conservative hypocrisy and repressed behavior.

The World is as You Sneeze It

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:14:55 -0500

It’s coughing season here in NYC. You get on the subway with bare hands and by the time you reach your station you’ve slathered your skin with other people’s germs (even the best surfer has to grab the metal bars for support now and then, especially on the dive under the East River from Brooklyn to The City). Yes, now that I’m Bridge and Tunnel, I call Manhattan The City. Just comes naturally, like bowls of tortellini in brodo from the place round the corner. Anyway, I’ve got a personal interest in coughing right now. I’ve almost passed out coughing in the last few days. I hope it goes away soon. Until then, I present Frank Zappa’s 1967 score for a Luden’s Cough Drops commercial: