I first met her a few years ago hanging out at her apartment in Chicago and saw her again a couple weeks ago at a group show.  She’s a great artist and uses soft strokes and amazing colors in this piece

sitting girl (daydream)   2004

watercolor and oil on canvas board – 9 x 12 inch

The title, 100 SUNS, refers to the response by J. Robert Oppenheimer to the world’s first nuclear explosion in New Mexico when he quoted a passage from the Bhagavad Gita, the classic Vedic text, “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst forth at once in the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One… I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” This was Oppenheimer’s attempt to describe the otherwise indescribable. 100 SUNS likewise confronts the indescribable by presenting without embellishment the stark evidence of the tests at the moment of detonation. Since the tests were either conducted in Nevada or the Pacific the book is simply divided between the desert and the ocean.  The evidence of these photographs is terrifying in its implication and also disconcerting as a spectacle. The full article

If only there were more teachers like this

Nearly two pounds of still-green plant material found in a 2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert has just been identified as the world’s oldest marijuana stash, according to a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany.

A barrage of tests proves the marijuana possessed potent psychoactive properties and casts doubt on the theory that the ancients only grew the plant for hemp in order to make clothing, rope and other objects.

They apparently were getting high too.  full article

Believed to be the highest-charting song of the rock ‘n’ roll era about a sport other than surfing, according to chart historian Joel Whitburn, “Basketball Jones” climbed to No. 15 on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1973, its popularity enhanced by an ahead-of-its-time animated promotional video.

A spoof of “Love Jones,” a 1972 soul hit by a Chicago group of mostly high school students known as Brighter Side of Darkness, the Cheech & Chong parody was produced by basketball fan Lou Adler, who sits next to Jack Nicholson at Lakers games, and charted one rung higher than the song it mocked.

“It was just stupid enough,” says Marin, who played basketball at Mission Hills Alemany High but never made it onto the varsity. “Everybody kind of knew the song ‘Love Jones,’ and that was stupid. It was like a very hip stupidity because it was a takeoff on a funny, dimwit song, and that made it smart.”

Says Tommy Chong, the other half of a duo most famous for celebrating and lampooning the ’70s drug culture, “It was just a good song that hit at the right time. It had nothing to do with dope and everything to do with basketball, and especially the obsessions of the players. Tyrone Shoelaces was a good example: a guy who loved the game so much that he slept with his basketball.”  full article

Sit back, relax and inhale the vibe of “Oboe”

So preposterously amazing, i started laughing during the ping-pong video out of sheer pleasure.  Just enjoy the possibility.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKvof8H2A6E

S T A T E M E N T

We believe in the following ideas:

    * Darkroom is an indispensable part for photographers.

    * Appreciation of photography can be taught.

    * Photography can make us see in a new way.

    * Photography can project “I/eye” of photographers.

    * Photographers can grow together by sharing ideas and images.

    * Photography can change our lives as well as others.

    * Photography is the interrelation between the seer and the seen.

    * Photography encompasses more than photography.

Project Basho Gallery