A bit o Sol LeWitt that I copied

Sleep Furiously

I went to see the documentary Sleep Furiously last night in MoMa. If anyone has the opportunity to see this I can't recommend it highly enough. The film focuses around filming scenes from everyday life, on 16mm film, around a small area in Wales. Shots of calves being born, sheep being herded, sponges being baked, children learning percussion in school, a choir practicing and a carpenter at work. It's a feast for the eyes. There is no distinct narrative or story. You're left more with your own impressions, which seem to be one of the tragic demise of a rural area. But there's great life in the story too and the shots are really delicious and reminiscent of my childhood. Except that is of course for the music provided by Aphex, I wasn't cool enough to be listening to him as a young un. The sound is pretty amazing, listening to the native tongue and beautiful recordings of people getting on with their lives, a true treat for the ears. The film was so refreshing, I hadn't seen anything shot like it before. Rent it, buy it or seek it out at a film festival, you won't regret it.

Day Trip!

Harlem Gospel Choir

The video speaks for itself...

Our Crib

Keeping with the Portobello tradition I made another homemade crib this year. Not by myself of course, Cons, Stephen and a few others along the way got involved. It's Brooklyn themed considering our location. It features...Sarah Jessica Parker - Mary; some Middle Eastern hijacker (thanks Stephen!) as Joseph; hipsters as sheep (cotton wool on their chests); hooker angels; Three Wise Men - Big Bird, Ian McKellan and The Naked Cowboy; on a 3D half pipe on the side is Tony Hawk; Jacques Cousteau coming out of a sewer with a trident and a deceased Michael Jackson among many others.
The photos are diabolical.

The Asphalt Orchestra

So last night I went to a free show in the David Rubentstein Atrium at the Lincoln Centre. It was so exciting. There was a marching band called the Asphalt Orchestra playing. They used the whole space, moving from spot to spot with all the audience, young to old, moving and dancing around with them. They’ve been set up by Bang on a Can and their premise I guess is to bring new and unusual music in a marching band setting to mobile and street audiences. They played Bjork, Zappa, Minugs, Klezmer and if my memory serves me correctly I was definitely dancing to atonal music. Yikes. Talk about refreshing and it just reminded me of how much I need to move to New Orleans and how much I love all the shit going down in NYC.

http://www.myspace.com/asphaltorchestra

SJDK

http://www.daptonerecords.com/

My first NYC snow

No stories this time. Just a lovely time. I bought wellies to run in the piles of snow. La la la la la.